Spain national football team
Spain national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de España) is the national football team of Spain. The current head coach is Luis Enrique. The team is often called La Roja ("The Red [One]"), La Furia Roja ("The Red Fury"), La Furia Española ("The Spanish Fury") or just La Furia ("The Fury"). The Spanish team became a member of FIFA in 1904, even though the team was made in 1909. Spain had their first match on the 8th of August of 1920 against Denmark. Since the team's creation in 1909, they have been in 13 FIFA World Cups, and 9 UEFA European Football Championships.
| Nickname(s) | La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) | ||||||||||||||||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||||||||||||||||
| Head coach | Luis Enrique | ||||||||||||||||
| Captain | Sergio Ramos | ||||||||||||||||
| Most caps | Iker Casillas (167) | ||||||||||||||||
| Top scorer | David Villa (59) | ||||||||||||||||
| Home stadium | Various | ||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | ESP | ||||||||||||||||
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| FIFA ranking | |||||||||||||||||
| Current | 9  (7 February 2019)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Highest | 1 (July 2008 – June 2009, October 2009 – March 2010, July 2010 – July 2011, October 2011 – July 2014) | ||||||||||||||||
| Lowest | 25 (March 1998) | ||||||||||||||||
| Elo ranking | |||||||||||||||||
| Current | 4  1 (3 March 2019)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Highest | 1 (September 1920 – May 1924, September – December 1925, June 2008 – June 2009, July 2010 – June 2013) | ||||||||||||||||
| Lowest | 19 (June–October 1969, November 1991) | ||||||||||||||||
| First international | |||||||||||||||||
 Spain 1–0 Denmark  (Brussels, Belgium; 28 August 1920) | |||||||||||||||||
| Biggest win | |||||||||||||||||
 Spain 13–0 Bulgaria  (Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933) | |||||||||||||||||
| Biggest defeat | |||||||||||||||||
Spain 1–7 Italy  (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 4 June 1928)  England 7–1 Spain (London, England; 9 December 1931) | |||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 15 (first in 1934) | ||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Champions (2010) | ||||||||||||||||
| European Championship | |||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 10 (first in 1964) | ||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Champions (1964, 2008, 2012) | ||||||||||||||||
| Confederations Cup | |||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2009) | ||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Runners-up, 2013 | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Spain are three-time European champions, having won the UEFA Euro 2012, UEFA Euro 2008, and 1964 European Championship. From November 2006 through June 2009 Spain went undefeated for 35 matches, a record shared with Brazil. Spain are one of the eight national teams to have won the FIFA World Cup; they won their first at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when they defeated the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time. Andrés Iniesta scored the winning goal in the 116th minute.
The team's achievements have led to many commentators and football experts naming them one of the best international sides in football history.
Most appearancesEdit
- As of 27 June 2016
| # | Player | Period | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iker Casillas | 2000– | 167 | 0 |
| 2 | Sergio Ramos | 2005– | 136 | 10 |
| 3 | Xavi | 2000–2014 | 133 | 12 |
| 4 | Andoni Zubizarreta | 1985–1998 | 126 | 0 |
| 5 | Xabi Alonso | 2003–2014 | 114 | 16 |
| 6 | Andrés Iniesta | 2006– | 113 | 13 |
| 7 | Cesc Fàbregas | 2006– | 110 | 15 |
| Fernando Torres | 2003– | 110 | 38 | |
| 9 | David Silva | 2006– | 103 | 24 |
| 10 | Raúl | 1996–2006 | 102 | 44 |
- If a player's name is in bold, that means that they are still playing international football.
Top scorersEdit
- As of 27 June 2016
| # | Player | Period | Goals | Caps | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Villa | 2005–2014 | 59 | 97 | 0.61 |
| 2 | Raúl | 1996–2006 | 44 | 102 | 0.43 |
| 3 | Fernando Torres | 2003– | 38 | 110 | 0.35 |
| 4 | Fernando Hierro | 1989–2002 | 29 | 89 | 0.33 |
| 5 | Fernando Morientes | 1998–2007 | 27 | 47 | 0.57 |
| 6 | Emilio Butragueño | 1984–1992 | 26 | 69 | 0.38 |
| 7 | David Silva | 2006– | 24 | 103 | 0.23 |
| 8 | Alfredo Di Stefano | 1957–1961 | 23 | 31 | 0.74 |
| 9 | Julio Salinas | 1986–1996 | 22 | 56 | 0.39 |
| 10 | Míchel | 1985–1992 | 21 | 66 | 0.32 |
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ ""La Roja"". 17 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ↑ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Since 1992, squads for Football at the Summer Olympics have been restricted to three players over the age of 23, which Javier will play in 2016. The achievements of such teams are not usually included in the statistics of the international team.