Luis de la Fuente reflects on Spain's historic win over Argentina

The Real Federación Española de Fútbol extended Luis de la Fuente through 2028 after the IFFHS named him the world’s best coach for a second straight year, a vote of confidence that followed Spain’s run to the 2026 World Cup final against Argentina and the country’s second star.

De la Fuente framed that climb as a process built with his players, not a single night of celebration. In a conversation with Telemundo, the Spain coach reflected on what it meant to beat Argentina and finish at the top of the tournament after steering a cycle that also delivered Eurocopa 2024 in Germany. For him, the final in which Spain defeated Lionel Scaloni’s side was the endpoint of a method that had already been tested in the biggest matches.

That method has carried Spain through two major checkpoints. Under de la Fuente, the national team won Eurocopa 2024 in Germany, and the federation later pointed to the World Cup final against Argentina as the match that sealed Spain’s second star. The RFEF also highlighted the scale of the journey by noting that the final was de la Fuente’s 50th match in charge of the national team, a milestone that turned the title into a marker of continuity as much as of silverware.

The federation’s own timeline shows how quickly that continuity took shape. In March 2023, the RFEF presented de la Fuente as Spain’s national coach, and he soon set the tone in Dallas ahead of the semifinal against France. Facing more than 300 journalists in the stadium press room, he said: “Lo daremos todo por estar en la final”. Spain reached it, and the victory over Argentina completed the route he had laid out.

RFEF president Rafael Louzán backed that trajectory by linking de la Fuente’s renewal to the recent trophies under his watch. The federation said his tenure had already delivered both the European Championship in Germany and the UEFA Nations League, and now the Argentina win has added the most visible validation yet: Spain’s place at the top of the world game, with de la Fuente still under contract to carry the project to 2028.