Spain 2010 v Spain 2026: How do the two XIs compare?

The year is 2010. A Spain side stacked with star names have sneaked their way into the World Cup final, where they ultimately triumph in a bruising encounter against the Netherlands with an extra-time Andres Iniesta winner.

Fast forward 16 years and a more under-the-radar, but equally efficient, Spain team have again reached football's showpiece.

The names may not trip off the tongue as smoothly as they did before, but Luis de la Fuente's current contingent are driven to match the achievement of the country's golden generation and lift the trophy for a second time on Sunday, 19 July.

Certain parallels are evident.

Take the continuity as both sides came into their respective World Cups having won the European Championship two years earlier.

For the team that triumphed in 2010, only three of the starting XI had not been at the 2008 Euros. Only two players who began Tuesday's semi-final against France were not part of the successful squad at Germany 2024.

Interestingly, Spain's 2026 squad of 26 players have an older average age than the group selected by Vicente del Bosque in 2010 (27.8 compared with 26.7), but they are less experienced on the international stage (33 caps on average against 56).

Spain had not won a World Cup knockout game since lifting the trophy in the South Africa tournament, before embarking on this run.

The vaunted 37-match unbeaten record of De la Fuente's men is impressive - matching Italy's world-best mark - even if it does discount a penalty shootout defeat by Portugal in last year's Nations League final.

This Spain side are the first team to keep six clean sheets at a single World Cup.

So how do the two XIs compare? BBC Sport takes a look.

Iker Casillas (2010) v Unai Simon (2026)

Age: 29.1 v 29.1

Caps: 110 v 65

Remarkably, Casillas was only 14 days older than Simon when he played in the World Cup final. The legendary Real Madrid goalkeeper is Spain's second most-capped player after Sergio Ramos, while Simon is a De la Fuente favourite. He has set the record for a goalkeeper for the most consecutive games at a World Cup without conceding in regulation play (six), a run which includes one game from the 2022 World Cup.

Sergio Ramos & Joan Capdevila v Pedro Porro & Marc Cucurella

Age: 24.3 & 32.4 v 26.8 & 28.0

Caps: 66 & 51 v 23 & 31

After their seasons of struggle at Tottenham and Chelsea respectively, few probably expected Porro and Cucurella to excel at this World Cup, but their competitive quality has shone in North America.

They boast fewer caps than either Ramos or Capdevila had when they played in the 2010 World Cup final.

Right-back Ramos won 28 major trophies during a glittering career spent mostly at Real Madrid, while left-back Capdevila was less heralded but has Euros and World Cup medals to show for his efforts.

Carles Puyol & Gerard Pique v Pau Cubarsi & Aymeric Laporte

Age: 32.2 & 23.4 v 19.5 & 32.1

Caps: 89 & 22 v 19 & 53

The young-and-old distinction of legendary Barcelona centre-back duo Puyol and Pique has been reprised in this tournament through Laporte and Cubarsi.

The 2010 pairing conceded just two goals in South Africa, but ex-Manchester City centre-back Laporte and Barcelona teenager Cubarsi have conceded one fewer so far, including nullifying the threat of France's feared attackers Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele in the semi-final.

Sergio Busquets & Xabi Alonso v Rodri & Fabian Ruiz

Age: 22.0 & 28.6 v 30.1 & 30.3

Caps: 19 & 75 v 69 & 49

Barcelona's Busquets was a revelation in the 2010 World Cup alongside stalwart Alonso in central midfield, together breaking up play and dictating games in front of the Spain backline.

At the 2026 World Cup, their exploits have been matched by 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri and the double Champions League-winning Ruiz. Manchester City's Rodri, in particular, has been immense, making more passes than anyone else and making the joint second-most tackles.

Xavi Hernandez & Andres Iniesta v Dani Olmo & Alex Baena

Age: 30.5 & 26.2 v 28.2 & 25.0

Caps: 93 & 48 v 57 & 23

Goals: 8 & 7 v 12 & 3

For all Olmo and Baena's undoubted quality at this tournament, Xavi and Iniesta are one of the best midfield partnerships in footballing history, from their time together with Spain and Barcelona.

Xavi's corner set up the winner for Puyol in the 2010 semi-final against Germany, while Iniesta fired home the most famous goal in Spain's history to bring them trophy glory.

David Villa & Pedro v Lamine Yamal & Mikel Oyarzabal

Age: 28.6 & 23.0 v 19.2 & 29.2

Caps: 64 & 7 v 32 & 60

Goals: 42 & 1 v 7 & 30

In a tournament headlined by superstars, Lamine Yamal has arguably yet to hit his peak for Spain, managing just one goal. But the teenage sensation still spearheads their team alongside the underrated Oyarzabal, who boasts a one-in-two scoring record for his country and has found the net five times at this World Cup.

In 2010, Villa also scored five to finish as joint top scorer with Uruguay's Diego Forlan, Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands and Germany's Thomas Muller. He was ably supported by Barcelona's Pedro, an emerging talent with only eight caps at the time, while Liverpool's Fernando Torres appeared off the bench.