Olmo... Picasso
East Rutherford – AFP – Artist and space-maker, he is Dani Olmo, with skills and passes delivered at the perfect moment, making him a Pablo Picasso for the Spanish national team as it faces defending champion Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final in East Rutherford, a suburb of New York.
La Roja is aiming for its second star, following the first it won in 2010. In Johannesburg, after a grueling extra-time match against the Netherlands, short-statured midfielder Andrés Iniesta became a hero to an entire nation when he scored the winning goal.
At that time, Olmo was 12 years old and just beginning his football development at La Masia academy, which has produced numerous stars, including his upcoming opponent, Lionel Messi.
Olmo vividly remembers what he felt watching Spain’s triumph in South Africa 16 years ago. Speaking to FIFA.com in November 2025, without knowing then that he would have the chance to follow in Iniesta’s footsteps, he said: “Moments like these are etched in your memory for life. I remember everything, from the first match to Iniesta’s goal in the final. Today, I have the opportunity to be on the pitch. It’s a dream come true.”
However, Spain’s presence in the final is no surprise, as the team has dominated for the past three years. They won the European Championship in 2024, a year after claiming the UEFA Nations League, a trophy they lost only via penalty shootout to Portugal last year.
While Spain relies on an extremely cohesive squad and boasts Lamine Yamal, a talent capable of changing games individually, and Rodri, a leader who regained the stature that earned him the 2024 Ballon d’Or, it also has Olmo, a high-class problem-solver and “master of play between the lines,” as described by his coach Luis de la Fuente.
In the semi-final victory over France (2-0), his artistic touches were dazzling, including a one-touch decisive pass to Pedro Porro, who scored the second goal.
In the first half, his perfectly timed heel pass between defenders to Yamal nearly led to one of the tournament’s most beautiful goals, only for Dayot Upamecano to intervene and save Les Bleus from Fabian Ruiz.
Before the quarter-final against Belgium, he said: “My life and career have always been like this. I constantly have to prove my worth, but that’s not a problem for me; it’s a standard I set for myself.”
Unlike his teammates, he was forced to leave Spain as a teenager to build his football career, after realizing in 2014 that his chances of establishing himself at Barcelona were slim.
He previously stated: “In Croatia, there was a different culture. In Spain, we worked more with the ball. I was 16 years old, training with players from the national team who had played in World Cups. It was a big step for me. It helped me develop physically and mentally because the game was faster.”
After attracting attention in Zagreb, Olmo spent four years in the German Bundesliga with RB Leipzig. During that period, Barcelona continued to monitor him closely, even attempting to bring him back since 2021, but financial issues prevented the move.
His return to his home country finally materialized in 2024 after a standout performance at the European Championship. The relationship with De la Fuente was not new, as the latter had also managed the Spain U19 team that won the European Championship in 2019.
Like Iniesta, Olmo has become a gifted, tenacious engine who often evades marking, even when surrounded by numerous opponents on the pitch.
