WC 2002-2022
Colombia vs Spain
No meeting in this window
—
WC 2026 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · KNOCKOUT-ONLY MEETING
🇨🇴
Colombia
GROUP KFIFA #132 PL
vs
🇪🇸
Spain
GROUP HFIFA #27 PL
WHAT THIS MATCHUP MEANS
The story before a ball is kicked
Colombia arrive in Group K as the top-fifteen FIFA seed with 2 Premier League players in their squad. Spain sit in Group H as the world's elite — top-five FIFA ranked with 7 PL regulars.
They sit in different groups, so the only routes to a meeting run through the knockout rounds. For both to face each other, Colombia need to top or qualify from Group K and Spain the same from Group H, then progress through R32 onto a shared half of the bracket.
The pre-match weight of evidence leans Spain's way only just. Below: a six-dimension head-to-head, the Premier League club distribution per squad, and the Onside verdict.
INTERACTIVE · COMBINED DREAM XI
Build the best XI from BOTH squads
Tap any pitch slot to pick from Colombia + Spain. Switch formation any time. Saved on this device.
0 / 11COL 0·ESP 0
Sources: official 26-man squads via football-data.org · Premier League roster fallback when feed lags. Loading saved picks…
HEAD-TO-HEAD · 6 DIMENSIONS
Colombia vs Spain — where each one wins
Each row scores the two teams 0–100 on a dimension. Longer bar = stronger. The colour-coded chip on the right names the winner of each axis.
FormHow strong they are on paper (FIFA world ranking)
ESP +1188
99
PL footprintHow many Premier League players are in the squad
ESP +239
32
Host edgeWhether they have home advantage as a host nation
LEVEL0
0
Group seedSeed position in their group of four
ESP +2575
100
ConfedTheir confederation's historical tournament strength
COL +395
92
ExperienceA proxy for tournament heritage (rank + confederation)
ESP +693
99
Colombia
Spain
SQUAD CLUBS · PL PERSPECTIVE
Whose PL players are at the World Cup
If you own any of these clubs' assets in FPL, this matchup matters to your pre-season — tournament minutes here become Saturday minutes in August.
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Where Colombia's 2 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Colombia's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Crystal Palace leads with 2 players (100%).
Crystal Palace2 · 100%
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Where Spain's 7 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Spain's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Arsenal leads with 3 players (43%).
Arsenal3 · 43%
Spurs1 · 14%
Chelsea1 · 14%
Man City1 · 14%
Crystal Palace1 · 14%
ONSIDE VERDICT
Edge to Spain · but narrowly
- ·Spain sit #2 in the FIFA world ranking — 11 places clear of Colombia.
- ·Spain's squad carries 7 Premier League regulars vs Colombia's 2 — sharper match-fitness coming into the tournament.
REFERENCE · AXIS BREAKDOWN
| Axis | Colombia | Spain | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | 88 | 99 | ESP +11 |
| PL footprint | 9 | 32 | ESP +23 |
| Host edge | 0 | 0 | level |
| Group seed | 75 | 100 | ESP +25 |
| Confed | 95 | 92 | COL +3 |
| Experience | 93 | 99 | ESP +7 |
OTHER COMPARISONS
HEAD-TO-HEAD · MODEL RATINGS
Colombia vs Spain
COLOMBIA
SPAIN
FORM SCORE
81
97
ATTACK
79
93
DEFENCE
72
87
EXPERIENCE
71
83
SQUAD-STRENGTH BREAKDOWN
Strength by department
COLOMBIA
- Attack67
- Midfield62
- Defence57
- GK47
SPAIN
- Attack78
- Midfield73
- Defence68
- GK58
PREVIOUS WORLD CUP ENCOUNTERS
No previous WC encounters
These two haven't met at a World Cup in our 2002-2022 window. Qualifier + friendly history will be added as football-data feed warms up.
Source: openfootball/worldcup.json (CC0). World Cup 2002 → 2022 inclusive.
KEY PLAYERS · BOTH SIDES
The match-defining names
COLOMBIA
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for Colombia.
View full Colombia squad →SPAIN
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for Spain.
View full Spain squad →WC MATCHDAY BRIEF · ONE LIST, TWO SEASONS
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