It would be fair to say that Spain's qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ was not their most spectacular. In fact, it was only after an emphatic 5-1 win over Slovakia in the first leg of the play-offs that their place in the finals looked secure and their fans could breath a collective sigh of relief.

When Luis Aragones's side were drawn in Group 7 alongside Serbia and Montenegro, San Marino, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Lithuania, few thought they would have much difficulty topping their group. However no one told that to the Serbo-Montenegrins, who surprised almost everyone by winning the group. Though Spain remained unbeaten, they drew too many games to take top spot, with the points dropped in their two draws against Bosnia-Herzegovina and away in Lithuania proving costly.

And so the Iberians had to sweat it out a bit longer with a two-legged play-off against the up-and-coming Slovakians, who had finished ahead of Russia in Group 3. The Spanish finally did justice to their favourites' billing in the first leg, when an inspired Luis Garcia practically destroyed the visitors single-handedly. A hat-trick by the Liverpool man plus a goal apiece from Fernando Morientes and Fernando Torres left Slovakia's dream in tatters. A 1-1 draw in the return leg four days later merely rubber-stamped Spain's passport to the finals.

Spain did not taste defeat once during the period between Aragones's arrival as national team coach in summer 2004 and the close of 2005, posting six wins and six draws in official games. Yet while they remained unbeaten, they did struggle to finish off opponents, due in no small part to their strikers' inability to put away their chances.

Germany 2006 will be Spain's eighth consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals. They last missed out in 1974, when coincidentally the tournament was also held on German soil. However, international honours have so far proved elusive for la selección, their one tournament triumph coming more than 40 years ago at the 1964 UEFA European Championship. Their best result at a FIFA World Cup was back at Brazil 1950, where they finished fourth. Luck often seems to desert the Spanish, especially at the last-16 stage, where they fell at USA 94 and again at Korea/Japan 2002, the latter time on penalties.

The arrival of Aragones brought with it changes in team selection. The veteran coach revitalised his squad by bringing in new blood and wasted no time instilling his own philosophy – "control the ball and you control the game" – in his new players. To realise his goals, the coach handed midfield duties to playmakers Xavi and Xabi Alonso and anchorman David Albelda, who little by little have been forging a better understanding.

The last third of the field is the domain of strikers Raul Gonzalez and El Niño Torres. The pair contributed ten of Spain’s 25 qualifying goals (play-offs included), both scoring at opportune moments to prove that their undeniable finishing skills can never be discounted. Should either of the two be lacking in inspiration, Aragones knows that he also has potent attacking options in Morientes and Garcia. The young Iker Casillas, already a veteran of many campaigns, remains the undisputed first-choice in goal, and the coach has good options in defence, among them the tireless Michel Salgado on the right, central defenders Carles Puyol and Sergio Ramos and the incisive left-back Asier del Horno.

Perhaps the greatest worry for Aragones is his younger players' lack of maturity and competitive experience. He knows that this can only be put right over time, although few would argue that their progress to date under Aragones has not been noteworthy. On taking the job, he promised to guide the team to the finals in Germany. No sooner had he achieved this objective than he set himself an even tougher challenge: to lead Spain to a first ever FIFA World Cup Final.

Backing him all the way is his captain Raul, who said: "In the nine years that I've been with the national team, I've never seen so many quality players. We're going to this World Cup to win it."