Spain are in a World Cup final for the second time. And Rodri has played a huge role in La Roja getting there.
It’s not a surprise to see Rodri starring at the tournament, but he wasn’t expected to be the most-important player. All eyes were on the likes of Lamine Yamal to drive Spain to glory.
Yamal may still have a telling influence in the final. But should Spain win a second World Cup against Argentina on Sunday, it will have been built on the quality of Rodri in their midfield.
Rodri World Cup analysis:
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Importance to the team
Spain had to get used to playing without Rodri for quite some time after their Euro 2024 win. He missed 13 of their 16 games between the end of the tournament and the start of 2026. A lot of that was missed due to his ACL injury, but he also suffered a hamstring problem at the end of 2025.
A 3-0 win over Serbia in March 2026 represented Rodri’s first start for Spain in 566 days, ending a very frustrating period. In that time, Spain won 11 matches and only lost once — beaten on penalties in the Uefa Nations League final against Portugal. They were managing just fine.
But now he’s back in the team, it’s hard to see how Spain functioned without Rodri.
Rodri has played all but three minutes of Spain’s 2026 World Cup campaign, coming off late on in their opening match against Cape Verde. Only three outfield players have played more for Spain this summer.
He’s the only midfielder to have started every game for Spain. Initially, Rodri had formed part of an apparently undroppable duo alongside Pedri. In Luis de la Fuente’s midfield three, it was always Rodri and Pedri plus one. But even Pedri lost his starting place in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Rodri, though, has made himself undroppable.
Elite passing
No matter the formation, whether in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, Rodri is always the deepest midfielder. It’s there that he’s been able to flex his passing muscles, which everyone knows he has.
It’s not exactly groundbreaking to say that Rodri is one of the best passers in the world. But he’s kept a consistently high level at the World Cup this summer. The Spaniard has attempted and completed the most passes at the World Cup so far, and it’s not even close. Rodri has attempted 133 passes more than the second-most this summer, with 705 to teammate Pau Cubarsi’s 572. He has completed 105 more (655 to 550) passes than his compatriot, too.
Of course, those numbers come from the fact that everything Spain do goes through Rodri. He’s had more touches that any other player at the World Cup, and is the nucleus of the Spanish atom, as shown by his passes received and movement map above. Rodri mostly keeps to the centre of the pitch, only sometimes pushing out to the right to move the ball to that flank.
Rodri isn’t just boosting his numbers with safe passes, either. Although he does have more backwards passes than any other player at the World Cup (102), the Spaniard also ranks sixth for his 143 attempted forward passes. He also sits second with 187 attempted final third passes, and top for 173 final third passes completed. Only teammate Pedri (202) has attempted more final third passes this summer.
The variety of passes has been interesting too. Rodri leads the World Cup for chipped passes, at 34, which are passes played in the pair not including crosse. The Spaniard has also completed 18 lay-off passes, playing the ball backwards having received it with his back to goal. Rodri’s got range.
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Key ball-winner
While everyone focuses on Rodri’s passing, his tackling abilities go under the radar.
Only one player at the 2026 World Cup has made more tackles than Rodri’s 22. He’ll be expected to overtake Andres Cubas’ 23 in the World Cup Final. It’s this combination, of passing and tackling, that has made Rodri so key. Spain have only conceded one goal at the World Cup because they have more of the ball and control possession. Rodri forms the first part of that, winning the ball back.
Rodri wins the ball back all over the pitch. He ranks third at the World Cup this summer for possessions won in the middle third. The midfielder is the reason Spain haven’t really faced too many shots this summer. Rodri stops the opponents before they can even get to the danger areas.
Rodri has success further up the pitch too, with five possessions won in the attacking third. While that may not sound like much, it’s the sixth-most at the World Cup this summer. And it isn’t his main role in the midfield, with Pedro (10) tasked with that job.
The 30-year-old has won 41 duels so far, again placing him in the top five at the World Cup. Thirty of those have been ground duels, and Rodri has a 60% success rate on the floor.
Rodri is proving very hard to beat at the World Cup. And he’s very hard to stop when he’s on the ball. So you can imagine Argentina will either be hoping he picks up a late knock, or focusing their preparations on keeping play away from the midfielder.
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