Spain

"La Roja" — tiki-taka and total control, a golden generation that rewrote how the game could be played.

World Cups: 1 Confederation: UEFA

For decades, Spain underachieved on the international stage despite a rich club football culture. That changed between 2008 and 2012, when a possession-based style built around Barcelona's core delivered back-to-back European titles and the country's first World Cup — an unprecedented run of dominance in modern football.