Spain knew, now everyone else does too. It was almost 1.30am on 15 July 2024 when \u00c1lvaro Morata, the captain who had lifted the Henri Delaunay Cup, headed down the slope and towards the team bus parked beneath the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. A European champion now, he came with a big black boombox, a small blue Euro 2024 wash bag, a mischievous look and a knowing grin. \u201cSeems I have an eye for a player,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Seems he did. A month earlier, when the mood was not so optimistic, Morata had been asked if Spain really had any world-class footballers, the kind that could win the Ballon d\u2019Or and thus a major trophy. \u201cYes,\u201d he replied and he had started naming them: Rodri, Pedri, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal. Now, medal in his pocket, he left the naming to them. \u201cYou choose one,\u201d he said. \u201cAny one.\u201d There were candidates everywhere. They were there in Berlin and, although Morata is no longer around, they are there in Chattanooga too.<\/p>\n
At Spain\u2019s World Cup training base, over a little level crossing and through some woods, there is confidence. But then there always was. Players too, despite the external doubts that were dealt with in Germany. \u201cAll Rodri lacks is marketing,\u201d Morata had said before the Euros and a few months later Rodri won the Ballon d\u2019Or<\/a> his captain believed he deserved before. The question may not be whether Lamine Yamal will follow but how often. Luis Enrique adds \u201cPotter\u201d to Pedri\u2019s name. Fabi\u00e1n Ruiz has won two Champions Leagues in a row. If no one talks about Mikel Oyarzabal, especially not Mikel Oyarzabal, they should. David Raya and Joan Garc\u00eda were the season\u2019s best keepers in England and Spain \u2013 and they\u2019re the ones who won\u2019t play.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy can\u2019t Spain win the World Cup<\/a>?\u201d the head coach, Luis de la Fuente, says. Usually when the word favourite comes out, footballers run the other way. Spain\u2019s players have embraced it. There are two reasons for that: one, because that\u2019s just other people talking; and, two, because why not? \u201cI don\u2019t think we were favourites at the Euros and we won it,\u201d Rodri says.<\/p>\n Coming into the Euros, Spain\u2019s players had felt the confidence they had on the inside and the confidence others did not have on the outside. In Oyarzabal\u2019s words: \u201cMaybe there was no crack, but look at it: we might not have had \u2018names\u2019 but we were convinced we had players who were top three in the world. And we were clear that while there were teams with very good individuals, as a group we were stronger. There were none like us. We heard the things people said, the fact they didn\u2019t trust in us \u2026 and then people started climbing on board.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone is fully on board now. Spain\u2019s Euros was possibly the best there has been: no champion had won every game before, and they defeated Croatia, Italy, Germany, France and England en route. They are unbeaten in 30 games. And if that number needs an asterisk \u2013 they were beaten on penalties in the 2025 Nations League final \u2013 it is unmatched. Here\u2019s another number: asked to put a figure on how Spain feel on the eve of the first match in Atlanta, Mikel Merino went for 100%.<\/p>\n Those numbers convince others; for Spain\u2019s players, it comes more as confirmation. They\u2019ve changed their minds, not us.<\/p>\n