Spain has won three of four European Championship finals and their only World Cup final appearance, which came against the Netherlands in 2010. Furthermore, when considering club teams, Spain has won 22 of the previous 22 finals in which they competed against non-Spanish opponents.
In this exclusive report, FootballWinner looks back at all of Spain’s previous major tournament finals.
Euro ’64 final: Spain 2-1 Soviet Union
Spain’s first major international victory came against the then-champion the USSR in 1964, with La Roja defeating 2-1.
The final took place in Spain at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Santiago Stadium, which had nearly 80,000 people in attendance. The 1964 final was only the second edition of the European Championship, and it was Spain’s first after withdrawing in 1960.
Euro ’84 final: France 2-0 Spain
Spain has only lost in the final of a major tournament once, in 1984.
The final match between La Roja and France was held at Parc des Princes, with over 47,000 people in attendance. In terms of the game itself, both teams had opportunities to take the lead in the first half but were unable to capitalize.
Also Read: Euro 2024 final: How has England performed in previous major international finals?
Euro 2008 final: Germany 0-1 Spain
Euro 2008 marked the beginning of any team’s most dominant period in international football history.
Spain won the European Championship final against Germany 1-0 at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Austria, marking the first of three straight major tournament victories. In the final, manager Luis Aragones started five natural midfielders, including David Silva, Marcos Senna, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi.
Euro 2012 final: Spain 4-0 Italy
Spain won the European Championship for the second time in a row in 2012, their third overall.
The final match took place at the Olympic Stadium in Ukraine when La Roja easily defeated Italy 4-0. The emphatic scoreline was arguably a fitting end to a remarkable era of success, as no nation had ever won two continental titles and a World Cup in succession prior to Spain’s reign.
2010 World Cup final: Netherlands 0-1 Spain (a.e.t)
After their European Championship victories in 2008 and 2012, Spain won their first World Cup title, defeating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final.
South Africa hosted the competition, which culminated in the final at Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium. In the match against the Netherlands, Del Bosque started only four natural midfielders, with David Villa and Pedro playing forward.
