The Spain national team are essentially blocked from playing one UEFA member due to historical political tensions.
Over the past two decades, Spain have been the most successful European national team in tournament football, having won three European Championships – in 2008, 2012 and 2024 – as well as the 2010 World Cup.
The nation has produced some of the most talented footballers in modern times, with Lamine Yamal, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Ramos being just a few of the many world-class players to have donned the red shirt of La Roja.
Italy, Germany, England, and the Netherlands have fallen to final defeats against the Spanish since 2008, with several other sides being played off the park by the team during various friendly and qualifying matches.
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Spain will take part in World Cup qualifiers this week, with Luis de la Fuente’s side scheduled to take on Georgia in Elche before facing Bulgaria in Valladolid.
However, one nation has never faced Spain in a competitive or friendly match since it became a full member of UEFA in May 2013.
Gibraltar, currently ranked 200th by FIFA, is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, bordering Spain.
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The sovereignty of Gibraltar has been a topic of debate for several years, as it is a subject of territorial claim by Spain.
As per the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “the continued de facto British occupation does not meet the requirements of international law for the acquisition of sovereignty,” and that is why Spain “has always stressed that the occupation of the isthmus is illegal and contrary to international law, and has therefore always demanded its unconditional return”.
Due to the political tension between Spain and the territory, the two nations are currently banned from playing each other by UEFA.
According to UEFA’s draw procedures ahead of the European Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, the two teams were named in a list of four banned fixtures – alongside Ukraine vs Belarus, Kosovo vs Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo vs Serbia - and were kept apart in the draw.
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The topic was raised following Spain’s Euro 2024 final victory against England, after which midfielder Rodri and forward Alvaro Morata chanted “Gibraltar is Spanish”, resulting in a one-match ban by UEFA.
UEFA banned the duo for “failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football, and UEFA in particular, into disrepute".
The Gibraltar FA took issue with Spain’s behaviour and said it had “noted the extremely provocative and insulting nature of the celebrations”, in a statement posted to its website.
Luke Davies