La Roja met England in the Berlin showpiece, the Euros final, a country with a huge expat presence in the Canary Islands. Many were hoping that the Three Lions were finally set to end 58 long years of hurt, and following their fairytale run to the final, it looked as though the stars had aligned.
Gareth Southgate's side netted late goals in all three of their knockout round ties including a stunning Jude Bellingham bicycle kick in the second round and a last-gasp Ollie Watkins strike in the semifinals against the Netherlands.
It looked as though they were up to their old tricks once again when Cole Palmer rifled home a late equaliser in the final, cancelling out Nico Williams' opener. However, this time, their luck would run out.
After being outplayed once again – which was England's story throughout the entire tournament – things eventually caught up with them. Mikel Oyarzabal netted an 86th-minute winner for the Spanish, leaving England licking their wounds for the second straight European Championships.
But it wasn’t just the Spanish national team that secured major continental silverware last season. Real Madrid won the Champions League once again, for the sixth time in the last decade and a record-extending 15th time.
Los Blancos have been made the 3/1 second favourites by online betting sites for another triumph next season. And considering their dominance in recent years – especially against English teams – perhaps they should be the outright favourites rather than Manchester City.
Spain's record in major tournament finals over the last two decades is well documented. Spanish outfits – both clubs and the national team – have faced off against foreign opposition 23 times since 2001. Staggeringly, they have won them all.
The last Spanish team to suffer a defeat against a team not from the same country in a final was Valencia, who were defeated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League final 23 years ago. Alaves were also defeated in the UEFA Cup in the same season, with Liverpool emerging 5-4 victors.
Since then, none of their compatriots have suffered the same fate. And it is English clubs that have suffered at Spanish hands more than most. Five of those 23 finals came in the Champions League against opposition from England, and it was the Spaniards who won on each occasion.
The first of those triumphs came back in 2006 when Barcelona rallied late to defeat ten-man Arsenal in Paris. Then, a Pep Guardiola-powered Blaugrana defeated Manchester United twice in three seasons in 2009 and 2011. A decade later, Real Madrid had their way with Liverpool, defeating them in Kyiv in 2018 and Paris in 2022.
In the Europa League, a similar story is told. Spanish clubs have met their English counterparts four times since Liverpool's victory against Alaves in Dortmund. And once more, they won all of them.
Tournament specialists Sevilla have been one of the main reasons for their country's dominance. They have reached the Europa League final seven times in the last 18 years, winning all of them, including two against English opposition.
A blockbuster side containing the likes of Dani Alvez and Luiz Fabiano thumped Middlesbrough 4-0 in the 2006 final, with Gareth Southgate starting as centre-back for the English outfit. A decade later, the Andalusians defeated Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in Basel.
In 2010 Atletico Madrid broke the hearts of football fans the world over when they defeated underdogs Fulham in Hamburg courtesy of a brace from Diego Forlan. In 2021, Unai Emery took down not one but two English sides en route to the trophy, firstly beating former club Arsenal in the semifinals before winning against Manchester United on penalties in the final.
