Former Barcelona and Spain national team player Miguel Ángel Nadal believes Spain are among the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup, but they will face stiff competition from a small group of strong rivals in the tournament, which begins next month.
Nadal, who played for Barcelona’s Dream Team in the 1990s under the late Johan Cruyff, told Al Jazeera that La Roja’s biggest obstacle may be the pressure of high expectations.
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“Spain is basically one of the favorites to win, but there is considerable competition from other countries such as Brazil, France and Germany,” he said.
“It is clear that the team has very talented players like Pedri and Joao Garcia, but in order to win we need a good atmosphere throughout the team. It is not one player who wins the World Cup, but a team playing together. There must be a world-class good atmosphere in the camp.”
He added, “What’s important is that they don’t give in to the pressure and stand by each other.”
Nadal, who played for La Roja in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 tournaments, stressed that the World Cup is the pinnacle of players’ careers.
“They will want to play at their best. This is the pinnacle of their careers,” he added.
Nadal, who is the uncle of tennis champion Rafael Nadal, said the summer heat in the Americas could be a problem for players.
“They have to be very careful in this heat. It’s difficult to play in extreme heat,” he said.
“There are few challengers.”
Some Spain fans are reluctant to say out loud what the rest of the world thinks. That means Spain is the favorite to win the World Cup.
Manel Hernández, secretary general of Barcelona con la Seleccion, La Roja’s fan group based in the Mediterranean city, is also concerned about the weight of expectations, and for good reason.
Heading into the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Spain were the reigning title holders and two-time European champions – but it ended in disaster.
“Obviously, I want Spain to be champions, but look at what happened to us in 2014. We were eliminated in the group stage,” Hernandez warned.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to say you can be a champion before you start playing.
“OK, we have a seemingly easy group of Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Cape Verde. But the reality is that all these teams will play their best games and Spain could draw or lose. This will complicate the next stage.”
“Yes, we won the Euros[in 2024]but we have to realize that every team going to the world championships has the same chance. You never know.”
Hernandez, 37, said he has no intention of traveling to watch the World Cup in person, preferring to watch it with friends on the giant screen in Barcelona.
“First of all, it’s very expensive,” he added.
British journalist Graham Hunter, who is the Spanish national team’s television producer during the tournament, said Spain should win the World Cup.
“Spain is by far the best in the world, with the best form and the best team. There are very few challengers, including a very tight group of France, Portugal and Argentina,” he told Al Jazeera.
But Hunter said it’s not enough to just be the best team if you want to win the world’s most popular sporting event.
“I’ve been to eight or nine World Cups. What I’ve learned is that it’s a war of attrition. It’s luck. It’s all about the events, the weather conditions, the atmosphere in the camp,” Hunter said.
“Spain plays like a club”
Reuters soccer correspondent Fernando Callas agrees with the widely accepted premise that Spain are favorites to win the World Cup.
“They are my biggest favorites. They won the Euros two years ago and scored so many goals in a very impressive way,” said Callas, who will be reporting on Brazil’s World Cup campaign from New York.
“Spain play like a club. The players have known the manager since they were teenagers. About 90 percent of the team knows the system well.”
Callas said Spain played as a consistent team without one or two players dominating.
“We don’t need big stars to be a good team, and a wide range of players scored a lot of goals. I think (at Euro 2024) we had around 11 players scoring 14 goals,” he said.
“Obviously, Lamine Yamal is one of the greatest players, but there is a real team that is united.”
Callas said the other candidates were France, England, Portugal and Argentina.
“The only problem with Argentina is that they are an older team while Spain are young. Similarly, Brazil have a great team, but some of their key players are injured.”
Callas said Spain’s main problem may be a spate of injuries to key players.
“Lamine Yamal is out of the Barça season but should be back for the World Cup. Rodri suffered a devastating injury last season and Nico Williams has just been injured again.”
