Spain's Time Has Come in the FIFA World Cup

In reality, the favoritism is entirely with La Roja, but it is also worthwhile to observe the team's performance in a tournament that, true to form, has already delivered some surprises and glimpses of interesting squads.

Within Spain, the news of recent hours has been Real Madrid's signing of left-back Marc Cucurella, a player for England's Chelsea who had been rumored to be in the orbit of Barcelona or Atlético Madrid. The unexpected contract for €55 million plus €5 million in variables has given encouragement to a beleaguered Madrid fan base, bringing in an incisive attacker who is also skilled and diligent in defense.

The Catalan's return to Spanish football adds to other "white house" acquisitions for the upcoming season: Portuguese creative midfielder Bernardo Silva, Dutch right-back Denzel Dumfries, and French central defender Ibrahim Konaté.

Beyond this, expectations point to La Roja's debut as the European titleholder, with all signs pointing to Unai Simón in goal; Laporte and Cubarsí as center-backs; Cucurella and Llorente as full-backs. The midfield will feature Pedri, Rodri Hernández, and Fabián Ruiz, while in attack, the undisputed Oyarzabal will be flanked by Ferrán and Baena, with Lamine and Williams likely to get some minutes in the second half.

Spain will then face Saudi Arabia on June 21 and Uruguay in Guadalajara on June 27. If, as expected, they qualify first in their group, they will go to the Round of 32 on July 2 in Los Angeles against the second-place team from Group J (Argentina, Austria, Algeria, or Jordan). If they advance as runners-up, they will play on July 3 at Miami Stadium against the first-place team from the same Group H.

However, attention is also cast toward the tournament's events so far, which have seen an excellent performance from one of the hosts, the United States (4-1 over Paraguay), and the surprise of Australia (2-0 against Türkiye). Also noteworthy: Morocco's 1-1 draw with Brazil and the display of what looks to be one of the tournament's gems, 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouadi. Not to be overlooked is a hard-working Japan, which managed a last-gasp draw against the Netherlands, who seemed vastly superior but had to settle for 2-2.