Spain national football team

Spain

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	La Selección (The Selection) La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) La Roja (The Red One)
Association	Real Federación Española de Fútbol
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Luis Aragonés
Captain	Iker Casillas
Most caps	Andoni Zubizarreta (126)
Top scorer	Raúl González (44)
FIFA code	ESP
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	1
Highest	1 (July 2008)
Lowest	25 (March 1998)
First international
Spain 1 - 0 Denmark (Brussels, Belgium; 28 August 1920)
Biggest win
Spain 13 - 0 Bulgaria (Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933)
Biggest defeat
Italy 7 - 1 Spain (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 4 June 1928) England 7 - 1 Spain (London, England; 9 December 1931)
World Cup
Appearances	12 (first in 1934)
Best result	Fourth place, 1950
European Championship
Appearances	8 (first in 1964)
Best result	Winners, 1964, 2008

Olympic medal record
Men’s Football
	1920 Antwerp	Team
	1992 Barcelona	Team
	2000 Sydney	Team

The Spain National Football Team, commonly referred to as La Selección, is the national football team of Spain and is controlled by the Real Federación Española de Fútbol. They are the current European Champions, having won the 2008 UEFA European Championship. In July 2008, Spain rose to the #1 spot in the FIFA World Ranking for the first time in their history, becoming only the sixth nation, along with Germany, Argentina, Brazil, France and Italy, to top these rankings.

History

Early Years

Spain made their international football debut in 1920 at the Olympic Games in Antwerp and won the silver medal. They played their first home international in 1921, beating Belgium 2-0 in Bilbao. They also became the first non-British side to beat England when they won 4-3 in a friendly in Madrid in 1929. Spain, however, did not enter the 1930 World Cup. Four years later, Spain qualified for the second World Cup held in Italy in 1934. The Spanish side progressed to the quarterfinals and drew 1-1 with Italy. Under the rules of the time, the game was settled by a rematch which Italy won 1-0.

The Spanish Civil War and World War II prevented Spain from playing a competitive match until the 1950 World Cup. There they topped their group against England, Chile and the United States to progress to the final round. The cup was decided in games against the other group winners — Brazil, Uruguay, and Sweden. Success in the tournament eluded the Spaniards as they gained only one point by drawing with eventual winners Uruguay, losing to both Brazil and Sweden. The 1950 World Cup would be Spain's best ever World Cup finish (fourth place). Afterwords Spain entered a period of football wilderness and did not make another major appearance for ten years.

Under French-Argentine coach Helenio Herrera, Spain came out of dormancy to qualify for the first European Championship in 1960. Spain beat Poland 7-2 on aggregate to progress to the quarterfinals. However, Spain forfeit its quarterfinal tie with the Soviet Union because of political circumstances between Spain's dictator Franco and the Soviets.

European Champions and the Villalonga Era

In 1962 José Villalonga was appointed coach of Spain. Under Villalonga, Spain qualified for the 1962 World Cup but exited in the first round in a tough group against Brazil, Czechoslovakia, and Mexico. Two years later they hosted the European Championship. With a squad that included Luis Suárez, Francisco Gento, Josep Fusté and José Ángel Iribar, Spain beat Romania, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to move on to the semifinals. There they beat highly-favored Hungary 2-1 in extra time. They went on to face the USSR 2-1 before a crowd of more than 79,000 at the Bernabéu in Madrid. Jesus María Pereda put Spain ahead after just six minutes, but Galimzian Khusainov equalised a few minutes later with a free kick. Marcelino Martínez put in a late header to win Spain's first major international title.

As European Champions, Spain automatically qualified for the 1966 World Cup retaining much of the same squad from 1964 and keeping José Villalonga at the reigns. However, they failed to make an impression and exited in the first round, defeating only Switzerland and losing to West Germany and Argentina.

1968 to 1975

The departure of Villalonga put Spain into another period of wilderness with mixed results. After winning their group in the qualifying rounds of the 1968 European Championship, they were knocked out by England in the quarterfinals and did not make it to the final tournament held in Italy. Spain did not qualify for another tournament until Euro 76.

Post-Francoist Spain, Late 70s and Early 80s

Spain came back into contention with an impressive undefeated performance in their Euro 76 qualifying group which featured Romania, Scotland, and Denmark. But Spain's momentum ran out in the quarterfinals, where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to a dominant West German side.

The 1978 World Cup witnessed Spain's first World Cup appearance since 1966. Spain qualified by defeating Yugoslavia home and away and losing only to Romania in Bucharest. In the final tournament Spain were drawn into group 3 with Brazil, Austria, and Sweden. Spain started the finals by losing 2-1 to Austria, but kept their hopes alive drawing with Brazil 0-0 and defeating Sweden 1-0. But it was too little too late for Spain and they didn't proceed out of the group.

Euro 80 saw Spain qualify for the first eight-team European championship. After surpassing Romania, Yugoslavia, and Cyprus, Spain was drawn into group B with England, Italy, and Belgium. Spain gained only one point after a draw with Italy and again exited without reaching the quarterfinals.

1982 World Cup in Spain

In 1976 Spain was selected as host of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. This edition of the World Cup featured 24 teams for the first time. Expectations were high for Spain as the host nation under coach José Santamaría. In the group stages, Spain was drawn into Group 5 with Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia, and Honduras. Under pressure to perform well, Spain struggled through their group. On their first day of competition, they could only manage a 1-1 draw with unfancied Honduras. They picked up momentum with an impressive 2-1 victory over Yugoslavia but were defeated 1-0 by Northern Ireland. Despite the defeat, Spain progressed to the second round where they were drawn into Group B with West Germany and England. Spain's campaign ended when they were defeated by West Germany 2-1 and drew 0-0 with England, and as disappointment swept the country, Santamaría was sacked.

1984 to 1988

After a disappointing World Cup campaign on home soil, Spain were desperate to regain their credibility on the world footballing stage. Former Real Madrid coach Miguel Muñoz, who had temporarily coached Spain in 1969, returned to the national side. Spain topped Euro 84 qualifying Group 7, which consisted of the Netherlands, Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]], Iceland, and Malta. Spain passed the qualifying stage unexpectedly, as they had to defeat Malta by at least 11 goals to surpass the Netherlands for the top spot in the group. After going into the half leading Malta 3-1, Spain scored 9 goals in the second half to win by 12-1 and conquer the group. In the final tournament, Spain were dubbed as outsiders by bookmakers despite many talented players and a strong football league. Spain were drawn into group B with West Germany, Portugal, and Romania. In their first game, they drew 1-1 with underdogs Romania. Three days later they drew 1-1 again with Portugal. Spain topped the group with an impressive 1-0 victory over West Germany to avenge their defeat two years earlier. The semifinals saw Spain paired with darkhorses Denmark. With the game ending 1-1 after extra time, Spain defeated Denmark 5-4 on penalties after Preben Elkjær shot over the bar. Going beyond anyone's expectations Spain reached the final to face the hosts and tournament favorites France. Led by captain Michel Platini, France were tipped as heavy favorites and defeated Spain 2-0 after a goalless first half.

To build on their impressive Euro 84 performance, Muñoz helped Spain qualify for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Spain progressed in qualifying having topped Group 7 with Scotland, Wales, and Iceland. Muñoz took Spain to Mexico with a mixed squad of new and veteran players. Spain's group in the final tournament consisted of Brazil, Northern Ireland, and Algeria. Spain began the tournament nervously losing to Brazil 1-0. However, they progressed after beating Northern Ireland by 2-1 and Algeria by 3-0. Round 2 paired Spain with Denmark which had swept its group with three victories. In what was one of the strangest World Cup games, Spain defeated Denmark 5-1 with Emilio Butragueño scoring four goals. Spain progressed to the quarterfinals to face a Belgian side fresh off an impressive 4-3 victory over the USSR. The game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and — with neither side scoring in extra time — proceeded to penalty kicks. Spain's 1986 campaign ended with Belgium winning 5-4 on penalties. Despite their quarterfinal exit, the squad of 1986 was Spain's highest-scoring national team until 2008.

Muñoz was retained as coach for Euro 88. As in the several previous tournaments Spain qualified impressively in a group with Austria, Romania, and Albania. Spain were drawn into group A with West Germany, Italy, and Denmark. They began their tournament with a 3-2 victory over Denmark. However, their luck ended when they were knocked-out in the group stage after losing 1-0 and 2-0 to Italy and West Germany, respectively.

1990 to 1992

The 90s began with Spain looking to perform well and compensate for poor performances at Euro 88 at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. For 1990, Spain's new coach Luis Suárez selected many new players including Manuel Jiménez, Genar Andrinúa, and Martín Vázquez. Spain qualified from a group consisting of Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Northern Ireland, and Malta. Before the tournament Spain looked impressive by going almost undefeated in their friendly and qualifier games. In the final tournament Spain was in group E with Belgium, Uruguay, and Korea Republic. Spain began with a less than impressive 0-0 draw with Uruguay. They later defeated Korea 3-1 and avenged Belgium 2-1 after 1986. Spain's impressive first round performance was tarnished by a 2-1 defeat to Yugoslavia in the second round. As a reuslt Spain exited earlier than expected having disappointed their fans for not improving on their 1986 campaign.

Further disappointment followed when newly appointed coach Vicente Miera failed to qualify Spain for Euro 92 after finishing third in a group behind France and Czechoslovakia. Vicente Miera did however lead Spain to the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

Clemente's reign, 1992-98

Javier Clemente was appointed as Spain's coach in 1992 in hopes of bringing home a major international trophy. The 1994 World Cup was once again a testing ground for Spain's ability to perform well at the senior level. Spain qualified very impressively with nineteen points from twelve matches, a twenty three goal differential, and ranked as number five in Europe. In the final tournament Spain were drawn in Group C with Germany, Bolivia, and Korea Republic. The Spaniards were expected to easily progress to the second round alongside Germany. In their first game Spain drew with Korea 2-2 having given up a 2-0 lead. Three days later they drew 1-1 with Germany also giving up the lead. Spain qualified for the second round as expected with a 3-1 victory over Bolivia. Spain continued their success in the second round with a 3-0 victory over Switzerland. Their success ended with a controversial 2-1 defeat to Italy in the quarter-finals. A nasty and bloody foul committed by Mauro Tassotti towards Luis Enrique left the Spanish midfielder's nose broken in the penalty box, but with no penalty call given, Roberto Baggio would score the game winner for Italy in the last minutes. The 1994 campaign was seen as one of Spain's best despite the disappointment. Spain were once again left searching for a performance beyond the quarter-finals.

Clemente was hoping to build on their impressive yet disappointing performance in 1994 to perform well at Euro 96. Spain qualified as expected with impressive results from their group consisting of Denmark, Belgium, Cyprus, Macedonia, and Armenia. The final tournament witnessed Spain in a group with France, Romania, and Bulgaria. Their first game once again proved to be below expectations as they failed to beat Bulgaria and drew 1-1. After Bulgaria, Spain faced what proved to be a very strong French side but fought to sluggish 1-1 draw. Spain confirmed their place in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over a weak Romanian squad. In their quarter-final match with host England, Spain ran out of luck as they had a pair of goals questionably disallowed and were denied two possible penalties. Spain eventually fell 4-2 in the shootout.

In his second World Cup as Spain's coach, Clemente put his team through intensive training to try to put themselves as serious contenders to do well at the 1998 World Cup in France after yet another dismal performance at Euro 96. Many new rising stars such as Raúl González and Fernando Morientes were giving Spanish fans hope for the upcoming tournament. Despite falling in the world rankings to a record low before the World Cup, Spain went undefeated in their qualifying group with Yugoslavia and Czech Republic being the other contenders. Spain qualified with fourteen other European sides in the first ever thirty-two team World Cup. Group D consisted of Spain, Bulgaria, Paraguay, and Nigeria, many considered this group to be the Group of Death of the entire tournament. In their first game against African powers Nigeria, Spain led 1-0 and 2-1 in each half with much superiority. However, Nigeria amazingly turned the game around in the last twenty minutes and won 3-2 largely in part by an error made by all-time capped Spanish goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta. This defeat left Spain's hopeful campaign in ruins and sent Javier Clemente searching for answers. Their second game was a minor improvement, but left Spanish fans disappointed once again as Spain could only manage a 0-0 draw with Paraguay. After only a point from their first two games, Spain needed to rely on Nigeria and Paraguay drawing their match in order to qualify. In their last group game Spain fought valiantly to crush Bulgaria 6-1 hoping that goal differential would send them through. Spain's hopes did not go as planned as Paraguay defeated Nigeria 3-1. Spain were eliminated in the first round with only four points and finished third behind Paraguay and Nigeria. This was by far one of the most disappointing Spanish campaigns in recent times.

Euro 2000 and World Cup 2002

After a 3-2 opening defeat to Cyprus in Euro 2000 qualifying Clemente was sacked and José Antonio Camacho was promptly appointed as coach. Camacho immediately turned Spain's campaign around and Spain won the rest of their games to qualify for Euro 2000, including two 9-0 wins against Austria and San Marino. Once again Spain's hopes rested on a new coach and young players such as Raúl González, Fernando Morientes, Míchel Salgado, and Juan Carlos Valerón. Spain again were going to a major competition as one of the contenders for the title. In the final tournament Spain were in group C with Norway, Slovenia, and Yugoslavia. As always, Spain started their campaign with disappointment, losing 1-0 to Norway. But Spain got back into the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Slovenia. Their last game proved to be another nerve wreck as they looked to be going out of the tournament. Their last game was against Balkan powerhouse Yugoslavia. Spain started the match nervously by going down 1-0 with a Yugoslavian goal from Milošević. Alfonso Pérez was able to put a goal back for Spain in the 38th minute ending the first half with a 1-1 score. However, shortly after halftime Spain went down again 2-1 but made it 2-2 on 51 minutes with a goal by Pedro Munitis. Spain went down yet again 3-2 for the third time at 75 minutes. With only fifteen minutes left Spain desperately searched for an equalizer. After throwing every player forward Spain was still down 3-2, but at the 90th minute another Spanish goal from a late penalty by Gaizka Mendieta and a dramatic second goal by Alfonso Pérez in the dying seconds of stoppage time turned the game around making the final score 4-3 for Spain. Spain finished at the top of group C to book a quarterfinal clash with 1998 World Cup Champions, France. After a dramatic clash with Yugoslavia, Spain were confident in shocking the world champions. The game began with a dramatic first half with bombardment of both goals. The half ended 2-1 for France despite a late penalty for Spain which was missed by Raúl. Despite a strong Spanish attack France held on to win and knock Spain out prematurely. Disappointment and sadness swept Spain as the team could not impress their fans and suffered yet another quarterfinal exit.

Spain hoped once again for a good World Cup impression in 2002 in the Far East. Qualifying went as expected for Spain as they topped an easy group consisting of Austria, Israel, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Liechtenstein. Under Camacho Spain hoped that lessons learned from Euro 2000 would bring them better luck. But for Santiago Cañizares it was bad luck. Right before the competition started, he got injured and couldn't participate as the starting goalkeeper. This gave the 21 year old Iker Casillas the starting position. In the final tournament Spain were drawn into group B with Slovenia, Paraguay, and South Africa. This time Spain began the World Cup very strongly with 3-1 victories over Slovenia and Paraguay and a 3-2 victory over South Africa. Spain topped the group with nine points to face off a second round contest with the Republic of Ireland. An early goal from Spanish striker Fernando Morientes gave hope to the Spaniards. With just stoppage time remaining after the 90th minute, Fernando Hierro brought Robbie Keane down in the penalty box and Ireland equalized. The game went to extra-time where, unexpectedly, Spain was left with nine players on the field due to back to back injuries and no more sub-ins available. However, Spain were able to hold on and force the penalty shoot-out, where the young Iker Casillas proved himself worthy of the starting goalkeeper spot, stopping two penalties. After several misses and scores from both sides, Spain came out on top with a 3-2 victory. Spain booked a quarterfinal berth with hosts Korea Republic who upset Italy in round two. Spanish fans were confident this was the year Spain was to progress beyond the quarterfinals in any major tournament since Euro 84. After a hard fought 120 minutes and disallowed goals for the Spaniards, Spain faced another penalty shootout. Spain scored three penalties as did Korea. However, Spain's worst nightmare became reality after Joaquín had his penalty saved. Korea scored their last two penalties through Ahn Jung-Hwan and Hong Myung-Bo to knock Spain out of the 2002 World Cup. Spanish fans were shocked by another successive, and highly controversial, quarterfinal exit.

Euro 2004

At Euro 2004 in Portugal, Spain were drawn into group A with Portugal, Russia and Greece. After coming into second after Greece in qualifying, Spain looked very strong. The Spanish team were touted as heavy favorites for the 2004 crown by the European media. They possessed new and fresh players such as Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso under new coach Iñaki Sáez. Spain were also hoping that the tournaments proximity would contribute to their success. On June 12, Spain expectedly defeated Russia, 1-0, the goal scored by Juan Carlos Valerón just 36 seconds after coming on with various opportunities to increase the victory, such as a miss kick from Joseba Etxeberría against a virtually open goal, and a disallowed goal from Xabi Alonso for tapping the ball with his hand after heading it over Sergei Ovchinnikov. Four days later Spain faced Greece. Determined to win, Spain led the match until Greece scored an equalizer and the match ended 1-1. In their last game against Portugal, Spain needed to draw to qualify for the quarterfinals. However, a goal from Nuno Gomes faded Spain's hopes of advancing. The same day Greece were defeated 2-1 by Russia but moved ahead to claim second place on goal difference. As a result Spain were eliminated from Euro 2004 in the first round that consisted of the tournament's eventual finalists in Portugal and Greece. This exit was considered the most disappointing result since the 1998 World Cup. Iñaki Sáez was sacked only weeks later and replaced by Luis Aragonés.

2006 World Cup

Under Luis Aragonés, Spain struggled throughout the 2006 World Cup qualifying stage. Spain were in group 7 with Serbia & Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belgium, Lithuania, and San Marino. Despite mixed results including five wins and draws, Spain qualified for a playoff spot with Slovakia. Spain qualified for the final tournament after defeating Slovakia 6-2 on aggregate. Many didn't know what to expect of Spain heading into Germany; despite almost failing to qualify, the Spanish side had many talented players. Spain were drawn into Group H with Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. Spain won their opening game over Ukraine in a comfortable 4-0 result, with two goals from David Villa and one each for Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso. The first penalty of the tournament was awarded after Vladislav Vaschuk was sent off for pulling on Torres. Spain won their second game against Tunisia 3-1. A goal in the 8th minute through Jawhar Mnari put Tunisia ahead, but Spain scored through Raúl in the 71st min and Fernando Torres in the 76th min. Fernando Torres scored from the penalty spot in injury time to get his second goal in the game. Spain beat Saudi Arabia by 1-0 in Kaiserslautern on the 23 June. However Spain fell 3-1 in the second round by the more experienced France team, despite having led the game 1-0 after a penalty kick scored by David Villa. Spanish fans once again faced a premature exit and a performance below expectations. Spain and Brazil shared the 2006 FIFA Fair Play Award.

Euro 2008 Champions

Spain qualified at the top of Qualifying Group F with 28 points out of a possible 36, and were seeded 12th for the competition proper. They were drawn in Group D, with Sweden, Russia and reigning Champions Greece. Spain won all of their group games and finished top, with David Villa scoring the only hat-trick of the competition in the 4–1 defeat of Russia. Italy were the opponents in the quarter final match and the game finished 0–0. There was no score in extra time, so the game was decided by penalties. Iker Casillas saved two penalties as Spain won the shoot-out 4–2. This was the first time that Spain had beaten Italy in a completive match since 1922, and also broke Spain's record of losing penalty shoot-outs on 22 June - previous losses were against Belgium in the 1986 World Cup, England in Euro '96, and South Korea in the 2002 World Cup.

Spain met Russia again in the semi-final, once again beating them, this time by three goals to nil. In the final, played in Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Spain were up against three-times champions Germany. Spain won 1–0 with a goal scored by Fernando Torres in the 33rd minute. This was Spain's first major title in 44 years since the 1964 European Championship. Spain's total of 12 goals in the tournament made them the top scoring team and striker David Villa finished as the top scorer with four goals. Xavi was awarded the player of the tournament.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Kits

Spain's traditional kit was a red jersey with yellow trim with dark blue shorts and socks. Their current away kit is with a gold jersey with white shorts and socks.

World Cup record

Host nation(s) / Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930	Did Not Enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1934	Quarter-final	5	3	1	1	1	4	3
1938	Did Not Enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1950	Semi-finals	4	6	3	1	2	10	12
1954	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1958	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1962	Round 1	12	3	1	0	2	2	3
1966	Round 1	10	3	1	0	2	4	5
1970	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1974	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1978	Round 1	10	3	1	1	1	2	2
1982	Round 2	12	5	1	2	2	4	5
1986	Quarter-final	7	5	3	1	1	11	4
1990	Round of 16	10	4	2	1	1	6	4
1994	Quarter-final	8	5	2	2	1	10	6
1998	Round 1	17	3	1	1	1	8	4
2002	Quarter-final	5	5	3	2	0	10	5
2006	Round of 16	9	4	3	0	1	9	4
Total	12/18	-	49	22	12	15	80	57

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

European Championships record

Host nation(s) / Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1964	Champions	2	2	0	0	4	2
1968	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1972	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1976	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1980	Round 1	3	0	1	2	2	4
1984	Final	5	1	3	1	4	5
1988	Round 1	3	1	0	2	3	5
1992	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1996	Quarter-final	4	1	3	0	4	3
2000	Quarter-final	4	2	0	2	7	7
2004	Round 1	3	1	1	1	2	2
2008	Champions	6	5	1	0	12	3
2012		-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	8/13	30	13	9	8	38	31

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Spain national football team head to head

• Main article: Spain national football team head to head

Current squad

Caps and goals as of 29 June 2008

#	Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)
Goalkeepers
1	Iker Casillas (c)	20 May 1981 (age 27)	Real Madrid	82 (0)
13	Andrés Palop	22 October 1973 (age 34)	Sevilla	0 (0)
23	José Manuel Reina	31 August 1982 (age 25)	Liverpool	10 (0)
Defenders
2	Raúl Albiol	4 September 1985 (age 22)	Valencia	6 (0)
3	Fernando Navarro	25 June 1982 (age 26)	Sevilla	2 (0)
4	Carlos Marchena	31 July 1979 (age 28)	Valencia	47 (2)
5	Carles Puyol	13 April 1978 (age 30)	Barcelona	66 (1)
11	Joan Capdevila	3 February 1978 (age 30)	Villarreal	23 (3)
15	Sergio Ramos	30 March 1986 (age 22)	Real Madrid	39 (4)
18	Álvaro Arbeloa	17 January 1983 (age 25)	Liverpool	3 (0)
20	Juanito Gutiérrez	23 July 1976 (age 31)	Real Betis	23 (2)
Midfielders
6	Andrés Iniesta	11 May 1984 (age 24)	Barcelona	29 (5)
8	Xavi Hernández	25 January 1980 (age 28)	Barcelona	62 (7)
10	Cesc Fàbregas	4 May 1987 (age 21)	Arsenal	32 (1)
12	Santi Cazorla	13 December 1984 (age 23)	Villarreal	7 (0)
14	Xabi Alonso	25 November 1981 (age 26)	Liverpool	47 (1)
19	Marcos Senna	17 July 1976 (age 31)	Villarreal	16 (0)
21	David Silva	8 January 1986 (age 22)	Valencia	19 (3)
22	Rubén de la Red	5 June 1985 (age 23)	Real Madrid	3 (1)
Strikers
7	David Villa	3 December 1981 (age 26)	Valencia	35 (18)
9	Fernando Torres	20 March 1984 (age 24)	Liverpool	54 (17)
16	Sergio García	9 June, 1983 (age 25)	Zaragoza	2 (0)
17	Dani Güiza	17 August 1980 (age 27)	Mallorca	8 (2)

Recent call ups

The following players have been called up for the team in 2008.

Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Defenders
Ángel López	10 March 1981 (age 27)	Villarreal	5 (0)	v France, 6 February 2008
Pablo Ibañez	3 August 1981 (age 26)	Atlético Madrid	23 (0)	v France, 6 February 2008
Midfielders
Albert Riera	15 April 1982 (age 26)	Espanyol	5 (1)	v Italy, 26 March 2008
David Albelda	1 September 1977 (age 30)	Valencia	51 (0)	v France, 6 February 2008
Strikers not on all the matches
Bojan Krkić	28 August 1990 (age 17)	Barcelona	0 (0)	v France, 6 February 2008

Players

Notable players

Players are ordered by year of debut with national football team

1920 Ricardo Zamora (GK) Josep Samitier (MF) 1921 Paulino Alcántara (FW) 1928 Jacinto Quincoces (DF) 1934 Isidro Lángara (FW) Luis Regueiro (FW) 1936 Ángel Zubieta (DF) 1945 Telmo Zarra (FW) Agustín Gaínza (FW) 1949 Estanislao Basora (FW) 1950 Antoni Ramallets (GK) 1953 Ladislao Kubala (MF/FW) 1955 Francisco Gento (MF) 1957 Alfredo di Stéfano (FW) Luis Suárez (MF)

1958 José Santamaría (DF) 1961 Ferenc Puskás (FW) 1962 Amancio (FW) 1964 José Ángel Iribar (GK) Pirri (MF) Marcelino (MF) 1965 Luis Aragonés (FW) 1969 Salvador Sadurní (GK) 1970 Quini (FW) 1975 José Antonio Camacho (DF) Santillana (FW) Vicente del Bosque (MF) Jesús María Satrústegui (FW) 1977 Luis Arconada (GK) 1978 Rafael Gordillo (MF)

1981 Víctor Muñoz (MF) 1984 Emilio Butragueño (FW) 1985 Andoni Zubizarreta (GK) Míchel (MF) 1986 Manuel Sanchís (DF) Julio Salinas (FW) 1989 Fernando Hierro (DF) 1991 Miguel Ángel Nadal (DF) Luis Enrique (MF) Abelardo (DF) 1992 Pep Guardiola (MF) 1993 Julen Guerrero (FW) 1994 Sergi (DF) 1996 Raúl (FW)

1997 Joseba Etxeberria (MF) 1998 Juan Carlos Valerón (MF) Fernando Morientes (FW) 2000 Iker Casillas (GK) Carles Puyol (DF) Xavi (MF) 2001 David Albelda (MF) Vicente Rodríguez (MF) 2002 Carlos Marchena (DF) Joan Capdevila (DF) 2003 Xabi Alonso (MF) Fernando Torres (FW) 2005 Sergio Ramos (DF) Pepe Reina (GK) David Villa (FW) 2006 Marcos Senna (MF) Andrés Iniesta (MF) Cesc Fàbregas (MF)

2008

• Dani Guiza (FW)
• Santi Cazorla (MF)

Top goalscorers

As of 29 June 2008 the twenty highest scorers for Spain are:

#	Player	Career	Goals (Caps)	Avg/game
1	Raúl	1996-2006	44 (102)	0.431
2	Fernando Hierro	1989-2002	29 0(89)	0.325
3	Fernando Morientes	1998-2007	27 0(47)	0.574
4	Emilio Butragueño	1984-1992	26 0(69)	0.377
5	Alfredo di Stéfano	1957-1961	23 0(31)	0.742
	Julio Salinas	1986-1996	23 0(56)	0.411
7	Míchel	1985-1992	21 0(66)	0.318
8	Telmo Zarra	1945-1951	20 0(20)	1.000
9	David Villa	2005-0000	18 0(35)	0.514
10	Isidro Lángara	1932-1936	17 0(12)	1.417
	Fernando Torres	2003-0000	17 0(54)	0.315
12	Luis Regueiro	1927-1936	16 0(25)	0.640
	Pirri	1966-1978	16 0(41)	0.390
14	Santillana	1975-1985	15 0(56)	0.268
15	Luis Suárez	1957-1972	14 0(32)	0.437
16	Estanislao Basora	1949-1957	13 0(22)	0.591
	Julen Guerrero	1993-2000	13 0(41)	0.317
18	Joseba Etxeberria	1997-2004	12 0(53)	0.226
	Luis Enrique	1991-2002	12 0(62)	0.193
20	Ladislao Kubala	1953-1961	11 0(19)	0.579
	Alfonso Pérez	1992-2000	11 0(38)	0.289
	Amancio	1962-1974	11 0(42)	0.262

Selected Managers

see also List of Spain national football team managers and Category:Spain national football team managers

• Francisco Bru, 1920
• Pedro Parages, 1923-1924
• Paulino Alcántara,1951
• Ricardo Zamora, 1952
• Pedro Escartín Morán, 1952-1961
• Helenio Herrera, 1959-1962
• José Villalonga, 1962-1966
• Domingo Balmanya, 1966-1968
• Luis Molowny, 1969
• Miguel Muñoz, 1969, 1982-1988
• Ladislao Kubala, 1969-1980
• José Santamaría, 1980-1982
• Luis Suárez, 1988-1991
• Vicente Miera, 1991-1992
• Javier Clemente, 1992-1998
• José Antonio Camacho, 1998-2002
• Iñaki Sáez, 2002-2004
• Luis Aragonés, 2004-2008
• Vicente del Bosque, 2008-

See also

• Spain national under-21 football team
• Spain national youth football team (Includes U-17 only)

External links

• RFEF site
• Information about the Spain national football team
• RSSSF archive of results 1920-
• RSSSF archive of player records
• The confirmation of Luis Aragonés' preliminary squad