Luis de la Fuente
Spain head coach since 2022; won Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup.
Luis de la Fuente led Spain to the 2026 World Cup title on 19 July, with a squad that fielded eight Barcelona players and, for the first time in Spain's history, none from Real Madrid.
Last refreshed: 21 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can an all-Barcelona spine win a World Cup, or does one fitness crisis sink Spain?
Timeline for Luis de la Fuente
Attended the Zarzuela reception with Spain's coaching staff
2026 FIFA World Cup: Felipe VI received Spain's champions at the ZarzuelaRival accounts of the Finalissima that never happened
2026 FIFA World CupPicked a Barcelona-heavy, Real Madrid-less squad and rotated it hard
2026 FIFA World Cup: One goal conceded in eight matchesMentioned in: Spain held by debutants Cape Verde, 0-0
2026 FIFA World CupNamed Spain's final 26 with zero Real Madrid players for the first time in the European champions' history
2026 FIFA World Cup: Spain pick eight Barca, zero MadridBackground
Born on 21 June 1961 in Haro, La Rioja, Luis de la Fuente played as a Left-back for Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla, making 254 La Liga appearances and winning two league titles and the 1984 Copa del Rey with Athletic. He moved into coaching Spain's youth and age-group sides, winning the European title with the Under-19s in 2015 and the Under-21s in 2019, and took Spain's Olympic team to a silver medal at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games.
He was appointed Spain's senior head coach in December 2022, after Luis Enrique's departure following the 2022 World Cup quarter-final exit, and led the side to the UEFA Euro 2024 title in Germany, beating England in the final.
The 2026 World Cup title made him only the second Spain coach to win the tournament, after Vicente del Bosque in 2010, and the first to do so without fielding a single Real Madrid player.
De la Fuente wins the World Cup
De la Fuente named Spain's final 26 on 26 May with eight Barcelona players and zero from Real Madrid, the first squad in the federation's history without a player from the country's record title-holders, keeping Lamine Yamal despite a fitness concern and dropping the in-form Dani Carvajal. The gamble held through Belgium and France in the knockout rounds before his side won it 1-0 after extra time on Ferran Torres's 106th-minute strike.
His side's defining number wasn't a scoring one: Spain shipped a single goal across the entire tournament, a record no previous winner has matched, and the sport's own honours followed suit, Rodri's Golden Ball, Unai Simon's Golden Glove and Pau Cubarsi's Young Player award going to the back line and goalkeeper rather than an attacker. It was De la Fuente's 50th match in charge, capping a run from December 2022 that already included the Euro 2024 title.