Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Spain claimed their second World Cup title with a 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
- The squad features several young stars who could dominate international football for the next decade, including a 19-year-old phenom who stole the spotlight.
- Three veteran contributors to this historic run appear to have played their final matches for la Roja, signaling the end of an era for the champions.
Spain are champions of the world for the second time. On Sunday, in a final very reminiscent of their 2010 triumph, la Roja defeated Argentina 1-0 at MetLife in New Jersey, with Ferran Torres lashing home the winner in extra time. Under Luis de la Fuente, the Spanish have enjoyed pretty much non-stop success, winning both the UEFA Nations League and Euro 2024 before completing the set by picking up the biggest title of all.
The scary aspect for everybody else is how young this squad is. Star man Lamine Yamal is still only 19 years old, the same age as center-back Pau Cubarsí (who was named Young Player of the Tournament). Meanwhile, the likes of Gavi, Pedri, Nico Williams, Marc Cucurella and others will likely still be key figures when the 2030 World Cup rolls around — a tournament which Spain is primarily hosting, alongside Portugal and Morocco.
La Roja aren't going anywhere any time soon. That said, which three members of this squad may we not see in a red jersey again after this latest trophy?
Rodri
This was a World Cup dominated by stars, as Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Harry Kane, Erling Braut Håland, Vinícius Júnior and others all shone. Lamine Yamal was expected to add his name to that list this summer, but he was never quite able to make the leap after battling injury in the run-up to the tournament. No matter, though, because in the end it was Rodri who proved once again that he deserves to be mentioned in any list of the best players in the world.
The midfielder, who completed more passes than anyone else at this World Cup, was presented with the player of the tournament trophy shortly after full time on Sunday. He is now just the seventh man to win the World Cup, his continental international tournament (Euros), the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or. The others are Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Zinédine Zidane, Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller, all of whom are all-time greats — as Rodri himself should now be considered.
Still only 30 years old, we are not saying that the Manchester City man is finished at the international level. But he might just be when it comes to World Cups: Rodri suffered a serious ACL rupture just under two years ago and has not looked the same player since, perhaps until this summer. Thus, and only as a result of this injury, it is tough to forecast how good he will be going forward, never mind at age 34 when 2030 rolls around.
Aymeric Laporte
Few players of any nationality have enjoyed, and at times endured, quite as bizarre an international career as Aymeric Laporte. Born in France before moving to Bilbao as a 16-year-old, Laporte's initial ambition was to represent les Bleus, earning 51 caps for France at youth level. He was even called up to the senior team numerous times, though without ever being capped.
When asked about his lack of playing time for France, Laporte said that coach Didier Deschamps was leaving him out due to "personal reasons", adding: "I have chosen France, I'm French. I don't even have dual nationality". Well, that all changed ahead of Euro 2021, with the center-back filing a one-time switch with FIFA and starting all six matches as Spain reached the semifinals just a few weeks later.
This has proved to be a worthwhile decision. Laporte now has 54 caps to his name with Spain, winning all three major international finals he has started. To make things even sweeter, it was France which Spain beat in the last four at this World Cup, with Laporte putting in an excellent performance to dump out the national team that turned him down. Now 32, his performances at Athletic Club were on the decline last season, although there was no sign of it this summer. Still, this might just be the last we see of Laporte representing his adopted nation.
David Raya
Ahead of the tournament, there was plenty of discussion around who should be Spain's primary goalkeeper. His squad features David Raya and Joan García, who just won the Premier League and La Liga, respectively, this past season, while looking like arguably the best two shot-stoppers in those respective leagues.
However, de la Fuente's man continues to be Unai Simón, who conceded just one goal across eight World Cup matches — a new record for a winner, and a mark that understandably named him goalkeeper of the tournament. Simón made just 10 saves across these matches, underlining how imperious the Spanish defense was.
Now 30, Arsenal's Raya is surely never going to become his nation's first choice, at least not as long as Simón is healthy and in form. Raya has just 13 caps to his name thus far, of which six have come in friendlies. It is expected that Simón will continue to be first choice when the UEFA Nations League begins in September and whenever he does step aside, Barcelona's García appears primed to take over. Thus Raya might just miss the opportunity to ever become Spain's No. 1 — which is a real shame, because he was a major reason why Arsenal won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years last season.
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