Pedro Sánchez chose the eve of the World Cup final to cast Spain's football team as a lesson in unity. In an opinion piece published on Sunday, he praised the side's talent, technique and, above all, what he called its solidarity and spirit of teamwork, while saying he would attend the final at the MetLife Stadium with Felipe VI.
That appearance will put Sánchez in one of the most visible seats in Spanish public life at a moment when he is trying to project national cohesion. He said 26 compatriots would take on Argentina in the final representing Spain before a worldwide audience, and framed the team as the kind that can win by trusting collective talent and the values that define the country.
The timing matters because Sánchez has spent months under pressure from scandals and investigations involving people close to him. A court confirmed on Thursday that Begoña Gómez will be tried for influence peddling and misuse of public funds. David was sentenced to nine years away from public office for using his older brother's influence to get a post in the public administration, José Luis Ábalos received a 24-year prison sentence at the end of June for corruption, and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has also been under investigation since May for influence peddling in exchange for bribes.
That is why the prime minister's praise of the national team lands as more than sports commentary. He is talking about togetherness at the same time that the opposition is demanding his resignation and early elections, and the contrast is impossible to miss. If Spain wins, Sánchez will get a brief moment of political cover in front of a country that has grown weary of the legal cases around him; if it does not, the pressure returns unchanged, with the final still behind him and the disputes still waiting.
