Spain's silent anthem: why La Roja don't sing before the World Cup final

Spain face Argentina in the World Cup final, chasing a second world title, but when La Marcha Real strikes up before kick-off the players in red will not sing a word — because Spain's national anthem has none.

The anthem, known as 'La Marcha Real' (the Royal March), began as a military march. It was composed in 1761 by Manuel de Espinosa, adopted as a state anthem in 1770, and became the national anthem during the reign of Queen Isabella II (1833-68). It is performed as an instrumental, which is why Spain's squad, staff and supporters simply stand in silence.

Why the words were dropped

Lyrics were added during General Francisco Franco's dictatorship, written by the poet José María Pemán. Once Franco was removed from power, those words were taken out of the anthem because of their association with his regime. Other sets of lyrics have been considered since, but Spain's wide regional and linguistic diversity has made agreement on a single text difficult, and no proposal has been adopted.

• La Marcha Real was composed in 1761 by Manuel de Espinosa and became the national anthem under Isabella II
• Franco-era lyrics by poet José María Pemán were removed after the dictatorship ended
• Later attempts to write new words have failed over Spain's regional diversity
• Spain is one of the few countries without a sung anthem, along with Bosnia, Kosovo and San Marino

Spain's route to the final

Luis de la Fuente's side arrived at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico among the favourites, having beaten England to win Euro 2024. Their campaign opened poorly with a goalless draw against Cape Verde, but Spain improved steadily and defeated France in the semi-finals to reach the final.

The same silence accompanied Spain throughout their Euro 2024 run, and it will be repeated at the final. For De la Fuente's players, the focus will instead be on a second World Cup crown, after their 2010 triumph.