Members of the Spain men’s national soccer team won’t sing lyrics during the playing of the country’s national anthem before its game against France in the FIFA Men’s World Cup semifinal at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 14.
That’s because the anthem, The Royal March, has no lyrics.
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“Marcha Real” was composed in 1761 and written as a military march for the Spanish Infantry, according to classicfm.com. Lyrics were written by a fascist during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. But like the dictatorship, the lyrics did not survive.
They were dropped after Franco died and as Spain transitioned from dictatorship to democracy. Subsequent efforts to write new lyrics failed.
Plácido Domingo, the Spanish opera singer, was supposed to debut lyrics at an Olympic Committee gala in 2008, according to the worldatlas.com. But fierce resistance derailed the plan.
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Spain’s Lamine Yamal in action during the World Cup with Portugal’s Nuno Mendes and Renato Veiga in Arlington, Texas, on July 6, 2026.
He became the youngest player to score a World Cup goal since Pelé in 1958.
(Tim Heitman, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Spain’s Lamine Yamal in action during the World Cup with Portugal’s Nuno Mendes and Renato Veiga in Arlington, Texas, on July 6, 2026.
He became the youngest player to score a World Cup goal since Pelé in 1958.
(Tim Heitman, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain prays before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Portugal and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 6, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.
(Molly Darlington, Getty Images)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Spain’s forward #19 Lamine Yamal kicks the ball during the 2026 World Cup round of 32 football match between Spain and Austria at the Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood on July 2, 2026.
(PATRICK T. FALLON, AFP via Getty Images)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain takes a shot during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Spain and Austria at Los Angeles Stadium on July 2, 2026 in Inglewood, California.
(Michael Steele, Getty Images)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Spain’s Lamine Yamal in action with Austria’s Xaver Schlager and Romano Schmid on July 2, 2026.
(Gary Vasquez, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Spain’s Lamine Yamal in action with Uruguay’s Rodrigo Bentancur on June 26, 2026.
(Daniel Becerril, Reuters)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
This photograph taken with a slow shutter speed shows Spain’s forward #19 Lamine Yamal fighting for the ball against Uruguay’s midfielder #06 Rodrigo Bentancur during the 2026 World Cup Group H football match between Uruguay and Spain at the Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan on June 26, 2026.
(CARL DE SOUZA, AFP via Getty Images)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Spain’s Lamine Yamal in action with Uruguay’s Juan Manuel Sanabria on June 26, 2026.
(Daniel Becerril, Reuters)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Uruguay’s defender #16 Mathias Olivera and Spain’s forward #19 Lamine Yamal fight for the ball during the 2026 World Cup Group H football match between Uruguay and Spain at the Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan on June 26, 2026.
(ALFREDO ESTRELLA, AFP via Getty Images)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Spain and Saudi Arabia at Atlanta Stadium on June 21, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Mattia Ozbot, Getty Images)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Spain and Saudi Arabia at Atlanta Stadium on June 21, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Justin Setterfield, Getty Images)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain celebrates with teammate Rodri #16 after scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Spain and Saudi Arabia at Atlanta Stadium on June 21, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Justin Setterfield, Getty Images)
See Spain’s 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal in action at World Cup
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain celebrates with teammate Rodri #16 after scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Spain and Saudi Arabia at Atlanta Stadium on June 21, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Justin Setterfield, Getty Images)
World Atlas reports Paulino Cubero, then a 52-year-old unemployed engineer who wrote the lyrics, lamented, “These are the miseries of our country.”
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Other countries with anthems that lack lyrics include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and San Marino. But Spain is the only one of those countries still vying for the FIFA World Cup Trophy.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spain has no national anthem lyrics to sing at World Cup semifinal vs. France. Here’s why
