There is no doubt that Spain are among the main favorites to win the 2026 World Cup. Results and performances throughout the year support that view, and they have also allowed Spain to equal a historic record previously held by Germany in the FIFA Rankings.
Spain finished 2025 as the top national team in FIFA’s ranking system, narrowly edging Argentina. That is true on the men’s side, but also on the women’s category: Spain climbed to the top of the women’s rankings as well, opening a clear gap over the United States.
Since the creation of the FIFA Rankings, only one country had previously topped both the men’s and women’s lists at the end of the same year. That distinction belonged to Germany, who held the position in 2014 thanks to the men’s World Cup title in Brazil and the women’s success at the UEFA European Championship one year earlier.
In Spain’s case, the current dominance can also be explained through concrete results. The men’s national team are the reigning European champions after winning the title in 2024 — a triumph that earned them the right to play the Finalissima against Argentina, the South American champions — and they were finalists in the 2025 UEFA Nations League, where they lost to Portugal.
Spain’s Aitana Bonmati is the best women’s soccer player in the world.
On the women’s side, Spain have been reigning World Cup champions since 2023, are two-time UEFA Nations League winners in 2024 and 2025, and finished as runners-up at the European Championship after losing this year’s final to England.
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Spain’s success is also individual
The results of recent years clearly reflect the outstanding work of the coaching staffs. Luis De La Fuente and Sonia Bermudez have given their teams a structure that maximizes individual strengths while minimizing weaknesses.
But the success is also driven by immense individual talent. On the men’s side, Spain boast several of the best players in the world right now. Lamine Yamal appears destined to become one of soccer’s next great stars, and at just 18 years old he already finished second in the Ballon d’Or voting. That award was won last year by another Spanish player, Rodri, while young talents such as Pedri, Gavi, and Pau Cubarsi are emerging as future superstars.
On the women’s side, Spain currently dominate world soccer. Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA The Best award for the third consecutive year. She is supported by other stars such as Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes, and Mariona Caldentey.
Spain’s next objectives
Leading the FIFA Rankings is, of course, a great honor for Spain, but it also brings added pressure. Every national team in the world will now be aiming to beat them, forcing Spain to work even harder to defend their status.
For the men’s team, 2026 will be a decisive year. In March, they will face Argentina in the Finalissima, a match that represents not only a chance to lift another trophy but also the final major test before the World Cup in North America. Meanwhile, the women’s team will use the coming year as preparation, with their focus on arriving in top form for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
