De la Fuente: Spain’s strength was facing Messi, Mbappe and Ronaldo with a team of 26

Luis de la Fuente says Spain’s collective strength was the key to winning the 2026 World Cup, insisting opponents were not simply facing one outstanding player but an entire squad of 26.

Spain lifted the trophy after beating Argentina 1-0 in the final in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal as Spain secured the World Cup for the second time, having previously won the tournament against the Netherlands in 2010.

Speaking to L’Equipe, Spain manager De la Fuente said his side had controlled their matches despite the challenges they faced.

“We controlled all the matches, despite the many difficulties,” he said. “We felt that we were clearly superior. Our opponents barely managed to get shots on target, while we created many chances.

“At the same time, we knew that even if all of that was the case, you could still lose the match.”

De la Fuente highlighted Spain’s performance against France as a particularly complete display.

“Against France, the match was almost perfect from our point of view, both defensively and offensively,” he added.

The manager also drew a comparison between the individual stars in the teams Spain faced and the depth of his own squad.

“We said at the World Cup that we would face Argentina led by Lionel Messi, France led by Kylian Mbappe and Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo,” said De la Fuente.

“But they would face Spain, made up of 26 players, almost like the 300 warriors.”

He said the team’s unity, rather than any single individual, ultimately separated Spain from their rivals.

“What really made the difference was the team and the group,” De la Fuente said.

He also praised Lamine Yamal, whom he described as a footballing “genius”, while acknowledging that the player had not produced his best possible version during the tournament.

“We focus a lot on Lamine Yamal because he is a footballing genius,” he said. “He was not at his best, but he had a great World Cup.”