SPAIN OUT OF ITS 'TIKI-TAKA' RUT

The team flew to Madrid when captain Álvaro Morata showed off the trophy on the stairs leading down to the tarmac. The team then visited Spain's King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro...

Spain arrived in Germany with no huge stars and no real expectations. Six weeks later, Luis de la Fuente’s team headed home with a European Championship title to celebrate and reason to believe in a bright future. The youthful spark of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams combined perfectly with the veteran poise of Rodri and other mainstays who had yet to win a major trophy as Spain completed its superb Euro 2024 in the final with a 2-1 win over England.

The key was making Spain a more dynamic and versatile attacking team to end a decade of “tiki-taka” misfires.

Even though Williams later rolled out the platitudes of enjoying the moment and going forward step by step, the Athletic Bilbao winger couldn’t help but look forward to the 2026 World Cup.

“We hope this can keep going and we can shoot for the World Cup,” the 22-year-old said after scoring the opening goal of the final. “I said before the tournament, nobody can hang with us. We are a great team.”

The euphoria was justified. Spain won all seven games — with none going to penalties — and scored a record 15 goals at a European Championship. And those victories came against the top traditional powers on the continent, as Spain downed Croatia and Italy in the group phase before eliminating Germany and France to reach the final.

“We made history beating four world champions in a row," Rodri said. "This is the most difficult tournament that our team has faced, without a doubt. We toppled them all.”