Brazil 

In 1950 the world cup traveled to Brazil, and was won by Uruguay who beat the hosts in the final. The Spain national football team performed well in the group stage. Three wins from three, over the United States, Chile and England, progressed them in top place. The side opened the final round group with a 2-2 draw against Uruguay. Unfortunately this was followed up with a 6-1 defeat to Brazil. A 3-1 defeat to Sweden left them bottom of the group, and fourth in the world cup.

Chile

It was another 12 years until the Spain national football team returned to the world cup. Held in Chile it was Brazil who won their second world cup. Things did not start well for the team as they lost to Czechoslovakia. A 1-0 win over Mexico gave the side a chance of qualifying for the next round, but a defeat to Brazil in the final group game left them bottom of the group.

England

In 1966 the world cup went to England, and was won for the first time by the hosts. It was the same story for the Spain national football team. An opening match defeat was followed up with a win over Switzerland. A 2-1 defeat to West Germany in the final group game put them on the plane home, this time in third place.

Argentina

Another 12 years passed before the Spain national football team qualified for a world cup, although 1974 still represents the last time the side failed to qualify. The world cup was hosted and won by Argentina. Spain continued their run of losing their opening fixture with a 2-1 defeat to Austria. A 0-0 draw with Brazil and a 1-0 win over Sweden wasn’t enough as they again finished third and were eliminated.

Spain

In 1982 the Spain national football team hosted the world cup themselves. Italy were the eventual champions as they beat West Germany in the final. Expectation was high in Spain, and the side broke their run on group stage exits. A draw, a win and a loss to Northern Ireland was enough to see them through in second place. In the second group phase the team opened with a loss to West Germany. A 0-0 draw with England left them bottom and eliminated from the tournament.

Mexico

The world cup traveled to Mexico in 1986, and was won for a second time by Argentina. The Spain national football team found themselves in a group alongside Northern Ireland for the second world cup running. A 1-0 defeat to Brazil preceded a 2-1 win over the side who beat them in 1982. A 3-0 win over Algeria in the final group game put the side through in second place.

The side faced Denmark in the last 16 and thumped them 5-1. Spain moved onto Belgium in the quarter-final but missed out 5-4 on penalties, and were on their way home.

Italy

In 1990 the world cup was hosted by Italy, and won for a third time by West Germany. Building on their performance in 1986 the side performed well in the group stage. An opening fixture draw with Uruguay was followed up with back-to-back wins against South Korea and Belgium. The team topped the group and progressed onto the last 16.

In a tight game against Yugoslavia the match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. An early goal in extra-time was enough to see Yugoslavia through 2-1 after extra-time, and eliminate the Spain national football team.

United States

The United States hosted the tournament in 1994, and the world cup was won by Brazil for a fourth time. The Spain national football team opened with two draws, against South Korea and Germany. A 3-1 win over Bolivia in the last group fixture was enough to see them through in second place.

A comfortable 3-0 win over Switzerland followed in the last 16, before the team faced Italy in the quarter-final. An 88th minute goal for Italy gave them a 2-1 win, and once again Spain could not quite make the big step to the semi-finals.

France

In 1998 the world cup visited France, and it was won by the hosts for the first time in their history. The world cup proved a bit of a set-back for the Spain national football team as they did not manage to qualify from the first group phase. A 3-2 loss to Nigeria was followed by a 0-0 with Paraguay. Even a 6-1 demolishing of Bulgaria wasn’t enough to save the side as they finished in third place.

Japan and South Korea

The world cup visited Asia for the first time in its history. Japan and South Korea were the hosts as the tournament was won for a record fifth time by Brazil. The Spain national football team bounced back in 2002. Three wins from three group games sent them quickly into the last 16. The side scored three goals in each of their games, nine in total.

Things were less straight-forward against the Republic of Ireland. Leading 1-0, a 90th minute Irish penalty sent the game into extra-time. No more goals were scored and the match went all the way to penalties. Spain came through 3-2 to move onto the quarter-final. The team way have won the lottery of penalties in the last 16, but it wasn’t the same story this time. 0-0 after extra-time, it was their opponents South Korea who came through 5-3.

Germany

The world cup returned to Europe in 2006 as Germany were the hosts. The world cup was won by Italy who beat fellow Europeans France in the final. The Spain national football team set the pace in their group with a 4-0 opening fixture win over Ukraine. Two more wins followed, over Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, and the side were onto the last 16.

Despite opening the scoring against France, the side went on to lose 3-1 to the beaten finalists, and once again crash out of the competition after promising beginnings.

South Africa

It was another first for the world cup in 2010 as the tournament visited Africa. After much promise and disappointment, the Spain national football team finally lifted the world cup trophy. Things actually didn’t start very well for the team as they lost to Switzerland in their opening game. Wins against Honduras and Chile followed to put them top of the group on goal difference.

A succession of 1-0 wins lead Spain to the title in the knock-out phase. Firstly against Portugal, a second half David Villa goal proved enough. In the quarter-final it was Villa again who saw them past Paraguay.  A 73rd minute goal proved the difference in the semi-final against Germany and saw them face the Netherlands in the final. 0-0 after 90 minutes, the game looked to be going to penalties. That is until the 116th minute when Andres Iniesta became his country’s hero, and won them the world cup.

Brazil

The 2014 world cup returned to Brazil for the first time since 1950. It was Germany who won the title, as they became the first European side to win the tournament in South America. As defending champions expectation was high in Spain. That is until the first group game. A 5-1 hammering at the hands of the Netherlands brought the side back to earth. A 2-0 defeat to Chile followed and the side were already eliminated. A 3-0 win over Australia saved some face, but after three major tournament wins in a row, this was a spectacular failure.

Russia

The Spain national football team have been drawn in Group G alongside Italy, Albania, Israel, Macedonia, and Liechtenstein.