Spain's football legacy traced from Copa del Rey to World Cup triumph

The Copa del Rey was created in the first decade of the 20th century, marking the early consolidation of imported football in Spain. Although the term “balompié” was promoted by the critic Mariano de Cavia, it was soon eclipsed by the phonetic adaptation “fútbol”. The recent men's World Cup final, contested by Spain and Argentina, was highlighted as a cultural reaffirmation of Spanish football. The article also notes former U.S. President Donald Trump's unsuccessful attempt to influence FIFA to lift a sanction on a player before a match against Belgium, and comments on the prominent role of Basque and Catalan players despite regional nationalist tensions. It observes that three of the four semifinalists were European and references former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy’s remarks about the ethnic profile of the French national team.