The Spain national football team have represented Spain in men's international football competition since 1920. They are governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain.
Spain are the reigning World and European champions, having won the most recent FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the latest UEFA European Championship in 2024. Overall, Spain have won the FIFA World Cup twice, in 2010 and in 2026, and the UEFA Nations League in 2023. They have also competed in 12 of the 17 UEFA European Championships and have won a record four titles. They are one of two national teams, the other being France, to have won all three major titles: the World Cup, the European Championship, and the Nations League.
The achievements of Spain's team from 2008 to 2012 and since 2024 – under their so-called revival – have led many experts and commentators to consider them one of the best squads in football history. During this period, Spain became the first national team to win three consecutive major titles, including the World Cup in 2010 and back-to-back European Championships in 2008 and 2012. Spain has won the FIFA Team of the Year award seven times, including every year from 2008 to 2013. Spain has the longest undefeated streak in men's international football, having played 38 consecutive matches between 2024 and 2026 without a loss. This unbeaten streak gave them the highest ever Elo rating, the win in the final putting them above the 1954 Golden Team from Hungary. Following their 2026 World Cup victory, they became the first national team to hold the men’s and women’s World Cup titles simultaneously, and became the first nation to win the title more than once in the 21st century.
Spain has been a member of FIFA since its founding in 1904, even though the Spanish Football Federation was first established in 1909. The first Spanish national football team was constituted in 1920, with the main objective of finding a team that would represent Spain at the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Belgium in that same year. Spain made their debut at the tournament on 28 August 1920 against Denmark, silver medalists at the last two Olympic tournaments. Spain won that match 1–0 and eventually finished with the silver medal. Spain qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 1934, defeating Brazil in their first game and losing in a replay to the hosts and eventual champions Italy in the quarter-finals. The Spanish Civil War and World War II prevented Spain from playing any competitive matches between the 1934 World Cup and the 1950 edition's qualifiers. At the 1950 finals in Brazil, they topped their group and advanced to the final round, where they finished fourth. Until 2010, this had been Spain's highest finish at the FIFA World Cup.
Spain won its first major international title when it hosted the 1964 European Nations' Cup, defeating the Soviet Union 2–1 in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The victory would stand as Spain's lone major title for 44 years. Spain was selected as host of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, reaching the second round and four years later they reached the quarter-finals before a penalty shootout defeat to Belgium. At UEFA Euro 1984, they lost the final against France. Spain reached the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup. The match became controversial when Italian defender Mauro Tassotti struck Luis Enrique with his elbow inside Spain's penalty area, causing Luis Enrique to bleed profusely from his nose and mouth, but it was not noticed nor sanctioned by referee Sándor Puhl. Had the official awarded a foul, Spain would have received a penalty kick. In the 2002 World Cup, Spain won its three group play matches, then defeated the Republic of Ireland on penalties in the second round. They faced co-hosts South Korea in the quarter-finals, losing in a shootout after having two goals controversially called back for alleged infractions during regular and extra time.
At UEFA Euro 2008, Spain won all their games in Group D. Italy were the opponents in the quarter-finals, where Spain won 4–2 on penalties. They then met Russia again in the semi-finals, beating them 3–0. In the final, Spain defeated Germany 1–0, with Fernando Torres scoring the only goal of the game, as Spain won their first major title since the 1964 European Championship. Xavi was awarded the player of the tournament. The following year the side finished third at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup breaking their 35-match unbeaten streak that began in November 2006 after a loss to the United States. In the 2010 World Cup, Spain advanced to the final for the first time ever by defeating Germany 1–0. In the decisive match against the Netherlands, Andrés Iniesta scored the match's only goal, coming in extra time. Spain became the third team to win a World Cup outside their own continent, and the first European team to do so. They then qualified for UEFA Euro 2012, finishing on top of Group I with a perfect 100% record. They became the first team to retain the European Championship, winning the final 4–0 against Italy, while Fernando Torres won the Golden Boot for top scorer of the tournament.
Spain advanced to the final of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, losing to hosts Brazil, and the following year they were eliminated from the group stage of the 2014 World Cup. At Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, the side were eliminated in the round of 16 in both tournaments, losing to Italy 2–0 and Russia 4–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. In the UEFA Euro 2020, held in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays, Spain made a breakthrough, reaching the last four of a major tournament for the first time since 2012, before losing to eventual champions Italy 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. The team finished the tournament with two wins and four draws (including two penalty shootouts). The same year they managed to reach the Nations League final, losing against France. In the 2022 World Cup, Spain finished second in their group before losing to Morocco 3–0 on penalties after a 0–0 draw, their third consecutive elimination from a major tournament in penalty shootouts.
Spain finished first in their group in UEFA Euro 2024 without conceding a goal, and went on to defeat Georgia in the round of 16 by a score of 4–1. They eventually eliminated hosts Germany in the quarter-finals with a 2–1 win and defeated France in the semi-finals with the same result, qualifying for their fifth European Championship final, where they won their record-breaking fourth European title by defeating England 2–1. Spain became the first team to win all seven matches in a single European Championship tournament, while setting a new record of 15 goals scored in a single European Championship.
Spain continued its success during the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League, where they defeated Netherlands in the quarter-finals and then France in the semi-finals, thus reaching their second consecutive UEFA Nations League final and their third overall appearance, with some commentators drawing similarities to Spain's previous "golden age". With their victory over France, Spain extended their undefeated record to 23 matches.
Spain qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after topping their group, and got out of the group stage as leaders of their group, having kept a clean sheet. In the round of 32, Spain defeated Austria 3–0, and thanks to another clean sheet, Spain's goalkeeper Unai Simón achieved a world record by equaling Walter Zenga's record of five consecutive clean sheets set in 1990, reaching a total of 519 minutes without conceding, two minutes more than the previous benchmark, a record later extended following Spain's 0–1 victory against Portugal in the round of 16, reaching a total of 609 minutes and six clean sheets, becoming the only team up to that point not to concede a single goal. Spain's victory against Portugal matched the country's previous record of 36th consecutive undefeated streak, having last lost against Colombia in a friendly match in March 2024. Spain continued to the semi-finals after a 2–1 victory against Belgium, a feat they haven't achieved since the country's first and only World Cup title in 2010 and only the second time in their history to move past the quarterfinals. Spain achieved a 2–0 victory over France in the semi-finals, securing their second World Cup final in their history, eliminating the defending World Cup runner-up team, and still carrying just the lone goal surrendered to Belgium in the quarterfinals, as well as its defending championship during Euro 2024, into the final where they would go on to face Argentina and win with a 106th minute winner from Ferran Torres.