How to Win the World Cup - From Above

Spain's 2026 World Cup win was hardly a massive surprise to football fans. It was another chapter in what has become an extraordinary period of Spanish dominance in international football. Spain won the European Championship in 2024 and the Nations League in 2023, and the Spanish women are the current World Cup holders. They also came agonisingly close to adding the 2025 Women's European Championship, only losing to England on penalties in the final.Spain's success didn't come from nowhere. Behind the country's seemingly endless supply of talented footballers is la cantera - literally "the quarry" - the system of youth academies and local football infrastructure that develops the country's players. La cantera, from above takes a fascinating look at one small but important part of that system: the football pitches themselves. Using Spain's national aerial survey (PNOA) from IGN España, the project has identified at least 257 football pitches in the greater Madrid area that have been…