World Cup 2026: Spain e players, fans cautiously embrace favourites tag

Euro 2024 champions will feel the pressure of a football-mad nation as they aim to clinch World Cup-Euro double in North America. Barcelona and Spanish national team player Miguel Angel Nadal believes Spain are among the favourites to win the 2026 World Cup but will face stiff competition from a small group of leading rivals when the tournament kicks off next month. Nadal, a commanding defender who played in the “Dream Team” for Barcelona in the 1990s under the late Johan Cruyff, told Al Jazeera that La Roja’s biggest obstacle could be the pressure from high expectations. “In principle, Spain is one of the favourites to win but there is considerable competition from other countries like Brazil, France and Germany,” he said. “Obviously, there are some very talented individuals in the team, like Pedri and Joan Garcia, but to win there needs to be a good atmosphere among the whole team. It will not be one player who wins the World Cup, but a team playing together. There needs to be a global good feeling in the camp.” He added: “What is important is they don’t let the pressure get to them and stick by each other.” Nadal, who played for La Roja at the 1994, 1998 and 2002 tournaments, stressed that the World Cup will be the pinnacle of the players’ careers. “They will want to play at their best. This is the height of the players’ career,” he added. Nadal, the uncle of tennis champion Rafael Nadal, said the summer heat in the Americas could be a problem for the players. “They need to manage this heat very carefully. It is hard to play in extreme heat,” he said. ‘There are very few challengers’ Some Spain fans are reluctant to say out loud what the rest of the world is thinking: they are the favourites to win the World Cup. Manel Hernandez, secretary-general of Barcelona con la Seleccion, a fans group for La Roja based in the Mediterranean city, also worries about the weight of expectations – with good reason. Heading into the 2014 Brazil World Cup, Spain were the reigning title holders and twice defending European champions – but it ended in disaster. “Clearly, I would like Spain to be champions but look what happened to us in 2014: we were eliminated in the group stage,” Hernandez cautioned. “Saying we will be champions before we have even started playing is not a good idea, I think. “OK, we have a group which is apparently easy: Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Cape Verde. But the reality is all these teams will play at the top of their games and Spain might draw or even lose. This would complicate the next stage.” He added: “Yes, we did win the Euros [in 2024]. But we should be aware that all the teams that start the World have the same chance. You never know.” Hernandez, 37, said he will not be travelling to watch the World Cup in person because he prefers to watch it with friends on giant screens in Barcelona. “More than anything, it is so expensive,” he added. Graham Hunter, a British journalist who will be a television producer with the Spanish national team during the competition, said Spain should win the World Cup. “On form and with a fit squad, Spain are by far the best in the world. There are very few challengers. They include a very tight group of France, Portugal and Argentina,” he told Al Jazeera. However, Hunter said it was not good enough to just be the best team if you want to win the world’s most popular sporting competition. “I have been to maybe eight or nine World Cups. What I have learned is that it is a war of attrition. It’s luck. Things like events, climatic conditions and mood in the camp [are important],” Hunter said. ‘Spain plays like a club’ Fernando Kallas, a football correspondent for the Reuters news agency, agrees with the widely held premise that Spain are the favourites to win the World Cup. “They are my biggest favourite. They won the Euros two years ago, scoring so many goals in such an impressive way,” said Kallas, who will be reporting on Brazil’s World Cup campaign from New York. “Spain plays like a club. The players have known the coach since they were teenagers. About 90 percent of the team knows the system so well.” Kallas said Spain played as a coherent team without one or two players dominating. “They don’t need big stars to be a good team. And a wide range of players scored a lot of goals. In [Euro 2024], I believe about 11 players scored 14 goals,” he said. “Obviously, Lamine Yamal is one of the biggest players. But there is a real team which is together.” Kallas said other contenders were France, England, Portugal and Argentina. “The only problem with Argentina is that it is an old team, whereas Spain is younger. Similarly, Brazil has an excellent team but some of its key players have suffered injuries,” he said. Kallas said Spain’s main problem might be a series of injuries which have hit key players. “Lamine Yamal is out of Barca’s season but should return for the World Cup. Rodri had a devastating injury last season. And Nico Williams has just had another injury.”