Pedro Porro #12 of Spain celebrates after the 2-0 victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final match between France and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.
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Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images
If the Spanish Men’s National Team pulls off a World Cup victory on Sunday, the Spanish football federation would make history as the first to bring home successive World Cup championships on the men’s and women’s side in the history of the tournament.
The women’s team won the 2023 World Cup and will enter next year’s tournament in Brazil as defending champions. While the men’s team has been a perennial contender, appearing in 17 out of 23 World Cup tournaments, they last won the Trophy back in 2010.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup has had a much shorter history than its male counterpart; having started in 1991 compared to 1930 for the men. During that time, it has only had five different champions: the United States, Germany, Norway, Japan and Spain.
Only two of those teams, Germany and Spain, have also won the men’s World Cup.
The Spanish System
Spain has a robust men’s soccer league system, led by the Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, more commonly known as La Liga. Its teams are consistently among the top-ranked in Europe.
Real Madrid, based in the capitol, is one of the world’s most successful soccer clubs. FC Barcelona is the third-most valuable soccer club in the world, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi broke Brazilian legend Pelé’s record for most goals scored for a single club for the Catalonian team. Trips to Barcelona’s stadium, Camp Nou, have reached near-pilgrimage status for diehard soccer fans.
Spain’s players and officials celebrate with the trophy after winning the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women’s World Cup final football match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on August 20, 2023.
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Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images
Spanish women’s soccer has lagged far behind, with both a league and a national team system plagued by poor coaching, underinvestment and abuse.
In 2015, the entire Women’s World Cup squad successfully called for the removal of coach Ignacio Quereda, whose leadership of the team since 1988 led many female players to accuse the Royal Spanish Football Federation of indifference to the women’s team. Even before the 2015 tournament, some longtime national team players said they refused to return to international duty as long as Quereda kept coaching.
In a 2021 documentary, “Romper el silencio,” players alleged Quereda sexually harassed and verbally abused them.
In the run-up to Spain’s 2023 Women’s World Cup victory, players again called for improvements to the women’s national team training and resources, with 15 players asking not to receive a national team call-up until the federation made changes.
Then, after Spain won, federation president Luis Rubiales forcibly kissed forward Jenni Hermoso, alongside other alleged indecent behavior. The entire Women’s World Cup squad stood behind Hermoso, calling for the removal of Rubiales and national team coach Jorge Vilda, who supported Rubiales. The players turned the international spotlight and goodwill of their 2023 victory into an international rallying cry that highlighted the poor treatment of female players.
Rubiales was suspended for three years, then tried and found guilty of sexual assault.
Members of the current Spanish men’s World Cup squad supported Hermoso and the other Spanish players in the wake of the Rubiales incident. Borja Iglesias, a striker, refused to play for the Spanish federation after Hermoso’s assault until Rubiales was removed.
In a viral moment on Tuesday, he found Hermoso on the sidelines after Spain defeated France in the World Cup semifinal and they hugged.
Spain will face Argentina at 3pm ET Sunday in New Jersey.
Madeline Fox is News Director at KCUR. For more World Cup coverage from KCUR, check out Soccer City 2026.
This story originally appeared on NPR
