Despite their disappointing draw in the opening match, Spain managed to regain their form, qualifying for the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup as top contenders. However, Luis de la Fuente’s team have dropped positions in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking. Spain have established as one of the top contenders for the 2026 World Cup. Luis de la Fuente has managed to impose his powerful attack, despite the complicated injuries to his stars. For this, Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedri have been essential, performing consistently. However, they have dropped positions in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking ahead of their Round of 32 clash against Austria.
According to the FIFA Men’s World Ranking, Spain are ranked 3rd with 1879.58 points. Despite their two recent victories, they have lost one position in the ranking. With their promising project, they have managed to significantly improve their international standing after several years without shinning. However, they have yet to match their highest-ever ranking, which was 1st in July of 2014.
Despite having lost one place in the rankings, Luis de la Fuente’s team remains above Austria. Ralf Rangnick’s team is ranked 23rd with 1,598.82 points, improving compared to previous years but still trailing Spain by a considerable margin. However, they could still surprise Spain in today’s game by relying on gegenpressing as their main approach. Nonetheless, their main task will be being effective in front of goal, as they may have only a couple of chances.
Head coach Luis de la Fuente has not managed to establish Spain as a completely dominant team. Despite the victories, they have not managed to control the tempo of the game, finding it quite difficult to break down solid defenses. To reach their best version, Pedri and Rodri need to be at their best. However, all eyes will be on Lamine Yamal, as he has still not managed to make a brilliant impact, something they will need against Austria.
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain celebrates with teammate Rodri #16 after scoring a goal.
Spain are not in top physical form heading into Austria clash
After a brilliant performance in the UEFA qualifiers, Spain expected to dominate the group stage of the 2026 World Cup. However, they had more problems than usual to shine, despite finishing at the top of the group. One of the main factors behind their inconsistent performances is that their stars arrived injured or had only recently returned from injury, something that could limit them significantly against Austria.
Lamine Yamal has started Spain’s last two matches, but he is coming off a fairly serious injury. In one of his most recent interviews, he revealed that he is at 80–90% of full fitness, so we have not yet seen him at his physical best. In addition, Mikel Merino, who has also been a starter, has still not managed to reach his best version, playing only 60 minutes against Uruguay.
Far from their problems ending there, Spain lost Nico Williams for the match against Austria, after a season marked by injuries. Although Álex Baena has been the starter and has performed well, he does not have the same dribbling ability. With this in mind, Luis de la Fuente’s team have lost the best version of several stars, something that could prove very costly against Austria, who could surprise them on the counterattack and with their collective play.