From Casillas to Torres, Rodri admits that repeating the glory of Spain's golden generation is difficult.

Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Spain National Team Captain Rodri has paid high tribute to La Roja's Golden Generation that dominated World Football throughout the 2010s. According to the Manchester City midfielder, the Spain squad that lifted the 2010 World Cup alongside Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 still deserves to be named the greatest Matadors national side of all time.

This statement is a special recognition from the man now leading Spain's new generation. Rodri assesses that the achievements of that squad - fielding icons including Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Fernando Torres - remain unrivalled to this day.

"It is impossible for me to claim we can surpass them. I truly believe they are the greatest football generation that has ever existed," Rodri stated, as quoted by the official FIFA platform on Sunday.

"No other national team in history has ever managed to win two UEFA European Championship titles and a World Cup," the La Roja captain added.

Spain's dominance during that era remains one of the most landmark periods in global football history. La Roja did not only collect silverware, they fundamentally changed how the world understood the game through their iconic possession-focused playing philosophy.

For Rodri, this legendary success carries deeply personal weight. He still vividly remembers the day Spain won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. At the time he was only 14 years old, attending an English immersion programme in Connecticut, United States of America.

Being thousands of kilometres from his homeland did nothing to reduce Rodri's desperation to watch the final against the Netherlands. He went to great lengths to access the broadcast, for a match that would become one of the defining moments of his life.

Staying at the programme camp at the time, Rodri repeatedly pleaded with instructors to be allowed permission to watch the live final transmission.

"And there I was, out in the middle of the woods, watching Spain become world champions. The second Andres Iniesta scored that goal I jumped straight up and ran wild all around the camp. Nobody there had any clue why I was screaming at the top of my lungs and crying with joy," the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner recalled.

This memory has only reinforced Rodri's belief that Spain's golden generation is a near-unrepeatable phenomenon in football history - not just for their trophy count, but for the elite standard of player across every single position on the pitch.

Even so, Rodri stressed that the current Spain squad has no intention of living in the shadow of the past. He explained that this generation is building its own identity and writing its own legacy, proven by their results in recent years.

"This team is walking its own path, and I believe we have delivered excellent work lately. We have won the UEFA Nations League and the UEFA European Championship, and now we face the ultimate test: winning the World Cup," Rodri stated.

All the pressure now rests on Rodri's shoulders to lead La Roja at the 2026 World Cup, which will kick off on 12 June. As he chases Spain's second ever world title, the 30 year old captain still holds the Casillas-era squad as the highest benchmark for any international team.

The 2026 World Cup will be the chance for this new La Roja generation to etch their own name into football history.