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Spain national football team

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Spain
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)
La Seleccion
AssociationReal Federación
Española de Fútbol
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachLuis Aragonés (2004–)
CaptainCasillas
Most capsAndoni Zubizarreta (126)
Top scorerRaúl (44)
Home stadium-
FIFA codeESP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current12
Highest2 (December 1994)
Lowest25 (March 1998)
First international
Template:Country data Spain 1931 Spain 1 - 0 Denmark Denmark
(Brussels, Belgium; 28 August, 1920)
Biggest win
Template:Country data Spain old Spain 13 - 0 Bulgaria Bulgaria
(Madrid, Spain; 21 May, 1933)
Biggest defeat
Template:Country data Italy old Italy 7 - 1 Spain Template:Country data Spain 1931
(Amsterdam, Netherlands; 4 June, 1928)
England England 7 - 1 Spain Template:Country data Spain 1931
(London, England; 9 December, 1931)
World Cup
Appearances12 (first in 1934)
Best resultFourth place, 1950
European Championship
Appearances7 (first in 1964)
Best resultWinners, 1964
Olympic medal record
Men’s Football
Silver medal – second place 1920 Antwerp Team
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona Team
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Team

The Spain national football team, commonly referred to as [la Selección] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), is the national football team of Spain and is controlled by the Real Federación Española de Fútbol.

Spain has a reputation for underachievement in the FIFA World Cup, with their best finish being fourth place in 1950 despite often being among the pre-tournament favorites. They often start well, but as the tournament progresses, they seem to struggle considerably. Their current FIFA ranking is 10th. They did win the gold medal when they hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and in the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria.

History

Early Years

Spain made their international debut in 1920 at the Olympic Games in Belgium and came away with 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 a friendly in Madrid 4-3 in 1929.

European Champions

In 1962 José Villalonga was appointed coach of Spain and in 1964 they won 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 in the qualifying rounds before hosting the semi-finals and final. In the semi-final Spain beat Hungary 2-1. In the final beat the USSR 2-1 in front of a crowd of 125,000 at the Bernabéu. Jesus María Pereda put Spain ahead after just six minutes but they needed a late Marcelino Martínez header to win it after Galimzian Khusainov equalised with a free-kick.

Euro 2004

At Euro 2004, Spain were drawn into group A with Portugal, Russia and Greece. The Spanish team were touted as heavy favorites for the 2004 crown by the European media. They were also expected heavy favorites to qualify from their group. On June 12th, Spain expectedly defeated Russia, 1-0. 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. Portugal and Greece both went all the way to the final in which Greece beat Portugal to claim the title.

2006 World Cup

Spain won their opening game of group H over Ukraine in a comfortable 4-0 result. 2 goals from David Villa and one each for Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso made up Spain's 4. 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 finally 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 lost 3-1 in the Round of 16 to France. Spain and Brazil share the 2006 FIFA Fair Play Award.

Euro 2008 Qualifiers

Spain started its qualifying round on September 2, 2006 for Euro 2008 by beating Liechtenstein 4-0 in Badajoz. But they were then shockingly upset by Northern Ireland 3-2 in Belfast on September 6, 2006. A second straight defeat - a 2-0 loss to Sweden - followed on October 7, 2006.

World Cup record

Year Finish Matches Wins Draws* Losses Goals Scored Goals Against
1930 Did not enter
1934 Quarter-final 3 1 1 1 4 3
1938 Did not enter
1950 Fourth place 6 3 1 2 10 12
1954 Did not qualify
1958 Did not qualify
1962 Round 1 3 1 0 2 2 3
1966 Round 1 3 1 0 2 4 5
1970 Did not qualify
1974 Did not qualify
1978 Round 1 3 1 1 1 2 2
1982 Round 2 5 1 2 2 4 5
1986 Quarter-final 5 3 1 1 11 4
1990 Round of 16 4 2 1 1 6 4
1994 Quarter-final 5 2 2 1 10 6
1998 Round 1 3 1 1 1 8 4
2002 Quarter-final 5 3 2 0 10 5
2006 Round of 16 4 3 0 1 9 4
Total 49 22 12 15 80 57

 * Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

European Championships record

Year Finish Matches* Wins Draws** Losses Goals Scored Goals Against
1960 Quarter-final***
1964 Champions 4 4 0 0 11 3
1968 Quarter-final 2 0 0 2 1 3
1972 Did not qualify
1976 Quarter-final 2 0 1 1 1 3
1980 Round 1 3 0 1 2 2 4
1984 Runners-Up 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
Total 30 10 9 11 31 32

  * Matches include Quarterfinals or better from 1960 through 1976 ** Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks *** USSR walk-over after Spain protest and withdrew from game.

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Current squad

The following players named for friendly match against England on 7 February 2007 [1].

Caps and goals as of 15 November2006, included against Romania.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Íker Casillas 20 May 1981 65 0 Spain Real Madrid
13 1GK Pepe Reina 31 August 1982 5 0 England Liverpool
4 2DF Sergio Ramos 30 March 1986 20 2 Spain Real Madrid
5 2DF Carles Puyol 13 April 1978 53 1 Spain Barcelona
12 2DF Antonio López 13 September 1981 15 1 Spain Atletico Madrid
15 2DF Joan Capdevila 2 March 1978 7 0 Spain Deportivo La Coruña
3 2DF Ángel López 10 March 1981 1 0 Spain Celta Vigo
2 2DF Javi Navarro 6 February 1974 1 0 Spain Sevilla FC
22 2DF Pablo Ibáñez 3 August 1981 18 0 Spain Atletico Madrid
14 3MF Xabi Alonso 25 November 1981 33 1 England Liverpool
18 3MF Cesc Fàbregas 4 May 1987 14 0 England Arsenal
16 3MF Andrés Iniesta 11 May 1984 8 0 Spain Barcelona
21 3MF David Silva 8 January 1986 1 0 Spain Valencia
8 3MF Xavi Hernández 25 January 1980 43 3 Spain Barcelona
6 3MF David Albelda 1 September 1977 40 0 Spain Valencia
11 3MF Miguel Ángel Angulo 23 June 1977 4 0 Spain Valencia
7 4FW David Villa 3 December 1981 18 9 Spain Valencia
10 4FW Fernando Morientes 5 April 1976 44 26 Spain Valencia
17 4FW Ángel Javier Arizmendi 3 March 1984 0 0 Spain Deportivo La Coruña
9 4FW Fernando Torres 20 March 1984 39 14 Spain Atletico Madrid

Recent call-up

The following players have all recently been called up to the Spain squad. Bracket shows last call-up time.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Santiago Cañizares (2006 FIFA World Cup) 18 December 1969 46 0 Spain Valencia
2DF Míchel Salgado (Euro 2008 qual. v. Northern Ireland, 6 September) 22 October 1975 53 0 Spain Real Madrid
2DF Carlos Marchena (Euro 2008 qual. v. Northern Ireland, 6 September) 31 July 1979 28 1 Spain Valencia
2DF Mariano Pernía (Euro 2008 qual. v. Northern Ireland, 6 September) 4 May 1977 6 1 Spain Atletico Madrid
2DF Asier del Horno (2006 FIFA World Cup) 19 January 1981 10 2 Spain Valencia
2DF Juanito (Friendly v. Romania, 15 November) 23 July 1976 19 2 Spain Real Betis
2DF Alberto Lopo (Friendly v. Romania, 15 November) 5 May 1980 0 0 Spain Deportivo La Coruña
3MF Marcos Senna (Friendly v. Romania, 15 November) 17 July 1976 7 0 Spain Villarreal
3MF Borja Oubiña (Friendly v. Romania, 15 November) 17 May 1982 2 0 Spain Celta Vigo
3MF Luis García (Friendly v. Romania, 15 November) 24 June 1978 18 4 England Liverpool
3MF Antonio Puerta (Friendly v. Argentina, 11 October) 26 November 1984 1 0 Spain Sevilla FC
3MF Joaquín Sánchez (Euro 2008 qual. v. Northern Ireland, 6 September) 21 July 1981 42 4 Spain Valencia
4FW Raúl González (Euro 2008 qual. v. Northern Ireland, 6 September) 27 June 1977 102 44 Spain Real Madrid
4FW José Antonio Reyes (Friendly v. Argentina, 11 October) 1 September 1983 21 4 Spain Real Madrid

Previous squads

Players

Notable past players

Most capped Spain players

Main article: List of Spain international footballers

As of November 15, 2006, the ten players with the most caps for Spain are:

# Name Career Caps Goals
1 Andoni Zubizarreta 1985-1998 126 100 (Conceded)
2 Raúl 1996- 102 44
3 Fernando Hierro 1989-2002 89 29
4 José Antonio Camacho 1975-1988 81 0
5 Rafael Gordillo 1978-1988 75 3
6 Emilio Butragueño 1984-1992 69 26
7 Luis Arconada 1977-1985 68 62 (Conceded)
8 Míchel 1985-1992 66 21
9 Íker Casillas 2000- 65 41 (Conceded)
10 Luis Enrique 1991-2002 62 12
= Miguel Ángel Nadal 1991-2002 62 3

Top Spain goalscorers

As of November 15, 2006, the twenty players with the most goals for Spain are:

# Player Career Goals (Caps)
1 Raúl 1996- 44 (102)
2 Fernando Hierro 1989-2002 29 (89)
3 Fernando Morientes 1998- 26 (44)
= Emilio Butragueño 1984-1992 26 (69)
5 Alfredo Di Stéfano 1957-1961 23 (31)
= Julio Salinas 1986-1996 23 (56)
7 Míchel 1985-1992 21 (66)
8 Telmo Zarraonaindía 1945-1951 20 (20)
9 Isidro Lángara 1932-1936 17 (12)
10 Luis Regueiro 1927-1936 16 (25)
= Pirri 1966-1978 16 (41)
12 Santillana 1975-1985 15 (56)
13 Luis Suárez 1957-1972 14 (32)
= Fernando Torres 2004- 14 (39)
15 Estanislao Basora 1949-1957 13 (22)
= Julen Guerrero 1993- 13 (41)
17 Joseba Etxeberría 1997- 12 (53)
= Luis Enrique 1991-2002 12 (62)
19 Ladislao Kubala 1953-1961 11 (19)
= Alfonso Pérez 1992-2000 11 (38)
= Amancio Amaro 1962-1974 11 (42)

Selected Managers

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