{"id":299823,"date":"2026-07-19T03:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T03:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/299823\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T03:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T03:19:08","slug":"spanish-style-wins-over-new-yorks-die-hard-world-cup-fans-ahead-of-final-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/299823\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Spanish style\u2019 wins over New York\u2019s die-hard World Cup fans ahead of final | World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City, United States \u2013 Robert Sanfiz has been fielding a slate of late \u201cVIP\u201d requests to attend a World Cup final watch party at the Spanish nonprofit he oversees in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan. He\u2019s already booked to capacity, and is unsure if he can make additional space.<\/p>\n

It is a fitting final stretch to a mad-dash six-week tournament that, like those before it, saw the Spanish Benevolent Society and its accompanying restaurant, known collectively as La Nacional, swell nightly with supporters of La Roja.<\/p>\n

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The 57-year-old credits Spain\u2019s 2010 victory, in part, with helping to revive the organisation, which launched 150 years ago initially to help newly arriving Spanish immigrants launch new lives in the city.<\/p>\n

While the neighbourhood\u2019s one-time Spanish enclave has all but disappeared, \u201cwe still are there for Spaniards who miss home\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

Sanfiz recounted the tension ahead of the 2010 final against the Netherlands in South Africa, with fans gathering on the street to watch through the window as Spain took its first, and to date only, championship.<\/p>\n

The strong and steady performance of Spain\u2019s squad this time around, led by 19-year-old striker Lamine Yamal<\/a> and the team-first approach of manager Luis de la Fuente, has helped him stay calm.<\/p>\n

Still, he plans to stay distracted during the final.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what I do during the game? I just sit out and direct traffic and make sure nobody gets hit,\u201d Sanfiz told Al Jazeera. \u201cI subconsciously do that because my greater stress is the game itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RobertRobert Sanfiz stands in front of a historic photo at the Spanish Benevolent Society, La Nacional, in Manhattan [Joseph Stepansky\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n

A day before the World Cup final, the Spanish red may not be quite as ubiquitous across New York City as Argentina\u2019s white and blue, but local die-hard fans feel their passion is unmatched.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, many gathered at Midtown\u2019s Mercado Little Spain, a collection of Spanish restaurants launched by Spanish chef Jose Andres, who could be seen among the sea of red.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a lifelong Spain fan, so this is unreal,\u201d said Javier Vriz, 38, who travelled from Chicago and will attend the final in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be a fan of Spain for that long is to know pain,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s always this feeling that there\u2019s no way it\u2019s going to happen. But they just kept winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been really consistent in their vision and in their approach and in their style,\u201d he added, referring to the signature team strategy that favours positional dominance over relying on any one player\u2019s prowess.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey never wavered from the Spanish style.\u201d<\/p>\n

A coalition of new supporters<\/p>\n

In the final stretch of the tournament, Spain have also proven a welcoming home for New York City\u2019s World Cup \u2018orphans\u2019 \u2013 neutral fans whose first or second choice squads had their dreams dashed in earlier knockout rounds.<\/p>\n

Their success has helped to build a coalition of new supporters.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s colonial history has in the past caused friction with supporters of many Latin American teams. But Argentina, with their controversy-laced run, have increasingly become football non-grata to fans from the region<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of Mexican fans have been hating on Argentina,\u201d said Rolando Sanchez, 26, a resident of the Bronx who had primarily supported the Mexican national team before their round of 16 knockout at the hands of England.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me though, it comes down to the players,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t mind seeing [Argentina number 10 Lionel] Messi finish on top, but Spain\u2019s players are the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yamal\u2019s paternal ties to Morocco and the Spanish government\u2019s recognition of Palestinian statehood have also boosted support for the team among Arab enclaves in the city, like Brooklyn\u2019s Little Palestine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"SpanishSpanish fans are seen at Mercado Little Spain in Manhattan [Joseph Stepansky\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n

At the same time, support has been particularly prominent among New York City\u2019s West African community, buoyed both by the heritage of Spain\u2019s star players and the large population of Africans in the country.<\/p>\n

Yamal\u2019s mother is from Equatorial Guinea. Winger Nico Williams\u2019s parents are from Ghana.<\/p>\n

Positive perceptions of Spain have been further boosted by the Spanish government\u2019s rejection of the hardline approach towards African migrants taken by many European countries.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Spain has pursued labour integration and legalisation drives for those living in the country without documentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey give them opportunities. That is so inspiring and so motivating,\u201d said Ousman Saho, 34, who coaches the Bronx-based Huntaz FC, a local club supported by the BAMBA Sports nonprofit, which aims to bring sport to underserved African communities in the city.<\/p>\n

Saho, who is originally from The Gambia, would have liked to see his first choice, Senegal, go all the way. But he hopes Spain\u2019s youthful class \u2013 which, beyond Yamal, also includes 24-year-old Williams and 21-year-old midfielder Gavi \u2013 will get their first taste of international glory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want them to win this one because it\u2019s gonna motivate them,\u201d he said. \u201cMessi has already won every tournament. He has shown he\u2019s the greatest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamadou Diabate, 36, who coaches the Bronx-based Los Espanoles FC, said he was proud of his homeland, Ivory Coast, and its showing in the group stage. That included stunning Ecuador with a 1-0 victory.<\/p>\n

But Spain\u2019s national team has always held a special place for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpain is one of those teams that lets you look at how beautiful soccer is, how teamwork works,\u201d Diabate said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpain has provided that to the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City, United States \u2013 Robert Sanfiz has been fielding a slate of late \u201cVIP\u201d requests to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[5886,9,11,10,2208,4875,901,2272,33009],"class_list":["post-299823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-europe","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-spain","tag-sport","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}