Spain pops its proverbial cork to claim first 2026 World Cup win

The Spanish national team has a long and storied history of starting slow at international tournaments. It kicked off its 2010 World Cup with a loss against Switzerland; it took three games to come to life at the 2021 European Championships. 

Spain's 2021 coach — current Paris Saint-Germain leader Luis Enrique — had a perfect analogy for his nation's tournament ethos. He said that Spain entered competitions like a bottle of cava: corked at the start, but ready to explode after a little action.

He was right. Spain won that 2010 World Cup, it made it to the semifinals of those 2021 Euros and it played beautiful soccer on both occasions. It just needed a shake, a jolt; once it got one, it blew the roof off the place.

So when Spain, entering this tournament as the clear World Cup favorite, failed to win its opening match against Cabo Verde, the reaction around the world wasn't one of despair or concern. It was one of sly understanding. There's Spain again, taking its time to get going. The question wasn't if Spain would find its goalscoring sense again; it was when.

Matchday 2, as it turned out. Spain rolled into its group-stage game against Saudi Arabia jolted and ready. Just as Luis Enrique once promised, it exploded. It beat the Saudis 4-0 to get its tournament off to a very proper — and indeed very Spanish — start.

Likely and unlikely heroes

The big question surrounding Spain at this World Cup relates to teenage phenom Lamine Yamal. The Barcelona attacker started Spain's first game on the bench out of an abundance of caution after suffering a hamstring injury, but he played a major role in Game 2, starting on the wing and causing chaos from the opening minute. 

He did a Cruyff turn after 50 seconds; he scored Spain's first tournament goal after 10 minutes. The 18-year-old is now one of the youngest World Cup goalscorers in history; just eight players, including Pele, managed to find the back of the net earlier than he did.