Which 2024 tournament had Spain won before entering the 2026 World Cup?

Spain had won UEFA Euro 2024 before entering the 2026 World Cup.

The European Championship was held in Germany from 14 June to 14 July 2024. Spain completed a perfect seven-match campaign, beating England 2–1 in the final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion to claim a record fourth European title.

Spain’s victory followed a demanding knockout route. La Roja defeated Georgia in the round of 16, Germany in the quarter-finals and France in the semi-finals before overcoming England. Nico Williams opened the scoring in the final, and Mikel Oyarzabal supplied the late winner.

A common mix-up is to call the competition simply the “European Championship” or “Euro 2024”; both refer to the same UEFA tournament. The Gold Cup, AFC Asian Cup and Copa América are separate continental competitions for different confederations. Spain’s Euro triumph also made it the first team to win all seven matches at a European Championship without a penalty shoot-out.