Spain's 2010 World Cup winning team - Who were the players and where are they?

It is Spain's first and only World Cup win to date...

Spain were one of the favourites to lift the World Cup in 2010. They had won the European Championship quite convincingly in 2008 and more or less the same squad was named by manager Vicente del Bosque for the marquee football tournament that was hosted by South Africa.

However, in the very first match, they suffered a shock defeat to Switzerland. Gelson Fernandes scored early in the second half and even though coach Vicente del Bosque brought on Fernando Torres, Jesus Navas and Pedro, his troops could not find the equaliser.

In the second match, they steadied their ship with a 2-0 victory over Honduras, courtesy of a brace from David Villa. Whereas, in the final group game they beat Chile 2-1 to finish as table-toppers. In the quarterfinals, Spain clashed with Paraguay. After a drab first 45 minutes, the two teams sprung to action in the second half. Oscar Cardozo saw his penalty saved by Iker Casillas, whereas Xabi Alonso's attempt from 12 yards was also stopped at the other end. However, it was Villa once again who came to the rescue and scored the winner in the 82nd minute.

In the last four, Spain defeated Germany 1-0 with Carles Puyol scoring from a corner to set up a summit clash with Netherlands.

In the final, both teams created a flurry of chances throughout the 90 minutes but none were taken. John Heitinga received his second yellow in extra time which left Netherlands with 10-men on the pitch. Spain started attacking with more teeth and finally, in the 116th minute, Iniesta latched on to a ball from Cesc Fabregas and found the far corner to score the winner, which gave Spain their first and only World Cup trophy.

Iker Casillas (Goalkeeper)

Iker Casillas has made 167 appearances for Spain, the second-most for the national team. In the 2010 World Cup he kept five clean sheets and won the Yashin Award for best goalkeeper.

He retired from professional football in August 2020 and returned to his boyhood club Real Madrid in December as a deputy to the general director of the Real Madrid Foundation.

Sergio Ramos (Right Back)

Sergio Ramos is the most-capped (180) player in the history of the Spanish national team. He was playing as a right back back then and kept a close eye on Dirk Kuyt in the final. He is his country's eighth-highest all-time goalscorer. He also holds the record for most international victories for Spain with 131 matches won.

After ending his association with Real Madrid, Ramos moved to PSG in 2021.

Carles Puyol (Centre Back)

The legendary centre back has made 100 appearances for Spain. He scored the winner against Germany in the semifinal and put in another impressive shift in the final.

He is currently Barcelona's Assistant Sporting Director.

Gerard Pique (Centre back)

Pique made his international debut on February 11, 2009 and has made 102 apperances since then for Spain. He was a key member of the World Cup winning squad and retired from the national team after the 2018 edition.

He currently plays for FC Barcelona.

Joan Capdevila (Left back)

Capdevila made his debut for Spain in 2002 in a friendly against Paraguay. He won 60 caps for Spain and played every minute for Spain in the 2010 World Cup.

He retired from football in 2017 and is currently working as a football expert.

Sergio Busquets (Central defensive midfielder)

Sergio Busquets is a legend at FC Barcelona who was picked in the team by Del Bosque as a replacement of Marcos Senna. He played every minute in the 2010 campaign barring the last 30 minutes against Switzerland in the group stage. He had the third–highest pass success rate, alongside his teammate Puyol, completing 88% of his passes. He is still playing for Barcelona.

Xabi Alonso (Central defensive midfielder)

Alonso was one of the best midfielders of his generation. He made 114 apperances for Spain and scored 16 goals.

The midfield general is currently the manager of Real Sociedad's B team.

Xavi (Central Midfielder)

Xavi was the midfield linchpin of the squad. He effectively controlled the game with his wide range of passing skills. He had 599 accurate passes with an efficiency of 91 per cent. In the final he made 57 forward passes and covered more than 15 kms in the final.

He is currently he manager of FC Barcelona.

Andres Iniesta (Right midfield)

A La Masia product, Iniesta made his international debut on May 27, 2006 in a friendly against Russia. He had an incredible impact in the 2010 World Cup and was shorlisted for the Golden Ball award. In fact, he scored the winning goal in the final in the 116th minute and celebrated by removing his jersey to reveal a message for his late friend Dani Jarque. He was also the man of the match in the final. He is currently plying his trade with Vissel Kobe in Japan.

Pedro (Left Midfield)

Del Bosque viewed Pedro as a player with lot of potential. Hence he included him in the World Cup squad for 2010. In the semifinals, he was given a start ahead of Fernando Torres and kept his place in the final as well.

He played 65 matches for Spain and retired from international football in 2017. He currently plays for Lazio in Serie A.

David Villa (Forward)

Villa is the top-scorer of Spain in World Cups with nine goals to his name. Five of them came in the 2010 World Cup and was awarded for the silver shoe for his efforts. Although he played a crucial role in the road to the final, the striker could not trouble Marten Stekelenburg under the sticks and was eventualy replaced by Fernando Torres.

Villa is the owner of the DV7 group which maanges multiple football academies across the world in countries like United States, Spain, and Japan.

Jesus Navas (Sub)

Navas made three apperances in the World Cup and played for around 60 minutes including extra time in the final. He is currently playing for Sevilla in La Liga.

Cesc Fabregas (Sub)

Fabregas provided the assist for the World Cup winning goal. However he did not start in any of the matches and came on as substitutes making four appearances.

He is currently contracted to AS Monaco.

Fernando Torres (Sub)

Fernando Torres had an average World Cup outing in 2010. He could not score a single goal nor did he provide an assist in the entire campaign. He came on for the last 14 minutes in the final.

In his international career he has played 110 matches and has scored 38 goals. Having retired in 2019, he is currently the assistant manager of Atletico Madrid's U-19 side.