The year is 2010. A Spain side stacked with star names sneaked into the World Cup final, triumphing against the Netherlands with an extra-time Andres Iniesta winner. Fast forward 16 years and Luis de la Fuente's under-the-radar team have again reached football's showpiece on 19 July. Parallels exist: both sides entered their World Cups having won the European Championship two years prior. For Vicente del Bosque's 2010 winners, only three starters missed the 2008 Euros; only two from Tuesday's semi-final against France weren't in the Germany 2024 squad.

Interestingly, the 2026 squad's average age is 27.8 versus 26.7 in 2010, but they're less experienced internationally (33 caps average vs 56). Spain hadn't won a World Cup knockout game since 2010 before this run. De la Fuente's 37-match unbeaten record matches Italy's world best, though it discounts a shootout loss to Portugal in the Nations League final. This side are the first to keep six clean sheets at a single World Cup. BBC Sport compares the two XIs.