Why Spain players stand in silence while national anthem plays before games

One of the great joys of playing in a World Cup is having the pleasure of belting out the national anthem with immense pride.

Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, England and Scotland are just some of the countries who have all erupted in pre-match chorus with their respective anthems.

For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA made a significant change to the pre-match ceremony as two giant flags are unfurled and the entire squad lines up around the centre circle for the anthems.

However, you will never catch Spain players singing the national anthem as the camera pans on them.

For a while there has been plenty of curiosity as to why Spain's stars do not sing the song as it plays over the public address system in stadiums.

The anthem 'La Marcha Real', composed by Manuel de Espinosa de los Monteros in 1771, is Spain's trademark track after it was declared so by Queen Isabella II.

It does not have any lyrics and is merely instrumental. As well as Spain, only San Marino, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina's anthems do not contain any lyrics.

There was a time where it did have lyrics, as words were added by General Francisco Franco in his spell as dictator between 1938 and 1973.

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Yet when he was no longer in power and Spain embarked on democracy, the lyrics were taken out to avoid any type of association to Franco and his dictatorship.

Lyrics have been suggested, including from the Spanish Olympic Committee attempting to stage a competition to add words in back in 2007.

Why were lyrics were removed from the Spain national anthem?

It came after Alejandro Blanco, then-president of the organisation, visited Anfield to watch a game. Blanco watched Liverpool in the flesh and was taken aback by the passionate rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

As a result, a competition took place for the sprinkling of new lyrics for 'La Marcha Real'.

7000 entries were submitted and then it was up to a panel of historians and musicians to decide the winner. Theresa Zabell, a former Olympic champion was also involved in the verdict.

52-year-old Paulino Cubero, from the Spanish capital of Madrid, was the winner and the new lyrics were set to be, "Viva Espana! Cantemos todos juntos" - which translates to "Long live Spain! Let us all sing together!".

However, the lyrics did not get off the ground and a week on, they were scrapped after criticism they were even considered by the country's Parliament.

Concerns raised varied from not promoting cultural diversity within Spain and its many different regions, while there were also worries that the language used had similarities to the messaging used by Franco in his regime and was therefore a backwards step.

Backlash led to the Spanish Olympic Committee retracting the proposal and 19 years later, the anthem remains lyric-less.

Some fans do sing unofficial lyrics but the players prefer to stand in respect while linked and listening to the music.

The 2010 winners shocked fans by drawing their first World Cup game to minnows Cape Verde but have won every game since and are still yet to concede a goal.

On Friday night they take on Belgium in the quarter final in Los Angeles, with the winner taking on France in the semi finals in Arlington, Texas on Thursday.