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The Opening Warning: Spain Won Only 5 of 16 in World Cups
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Sports

The Opening Warning: Spain Won Only 5 of 16 in World Cups

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Spain has a historically poor record in their opening matches at the FIFA World Cup, winning only 5 out of 16.
  • Their most recent opening match was a dominant 7-0 victory over Costa Rica in Qatar 2022.
  • However, past opening games have included significant defeats, such as a 5-1 loss to the Netherlands in Brazil 2014 and a 0-1 defeat to Switzerland in 2010.

Spain's opening matches at the FIFA World Cup present a historical challenge, with the team having secured victory in only five of their sixteen debut games in the tournament. This statistic serves as a stark warning ahead of their upcoming match against Cape Verde in Atlanta. While the memory of their resounding 7-0 triumph over Costa Rica in Qatar 2022 remains fresh, it stands in contrast to a pattern of difficult starts.

Always on notice, the World Cup debut warns the Spanish team, which has only won five of its 16 first matches in this competition.

— EFEIntroducing the historical trend of Spain's difficult opening World Cup matches.

Over their World Cup history, Spain has recorded seven opening defeats and four draws, scoring 31 goals while conceding 24. Their debut in the tournament was in Italy 1934, where they began with a 3-1 win against Brazil. In recent World Cups, their opening game results have been mixed: a 3-3 draw with Portugal in Russia 2018, a heavy 5-1 loss to the Netherlands in Brazil 2014, and a surprising 0-1 defeat to Switzerland when they were the reigning champions in South Africa 2010.

Spain's most recent opening victory, the thrashing of Costa Rica, was crucial for their progression to the knockout stages in Qatar. However, even in that tournament, they followed up with a 1-1 draw against Germany and an unexpected 2-1 loss to Japan. Other opening wins include a 4-0 victory over Ukraine in Germany 2006 and a 3-1 win against Slovenia in Japan and South Korea 2002.

Seven defeats, four draws, 31 goals for and 24 against complete the numbers in this regard for the Spanish team since its debut in the tournament in Italy 1934.

— EFEProviding a statistical overview of Spain's opening World Cup match performance.

The team has also suffered notable opening-game losses, including the 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands in 2014, which had catastrophic consequences, leading to their elimination in the subsequent match. Their only loss in the 2010 victorious campaign was a 0-1 setback against Switzerland in their opening fixture. Other opening defeats include matches against Nigeria (3-2) in France 1998, Brazil (0-1) in Mexico 1986, Austria (1-2) in Argentina 1978, Argentina (1-2) in England 1966, and Chile 1962.

Spain only got into play with a victory in three of its last 14 World Cups.

— EFEHighlighting the infrequency of opening match wins in recent World Cup history.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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