Kieran Shannon: Is Spain the greatest sporting country in the world?

BROTHERS IN ARMS: Willy Hernangomez and Juancho Hernangomez of Spain kiss The Nikolai Semashko Trophy following their side's victory in the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 final in Berlin. Pic: Maja Hitij/Getty Images
We like to think and claim that we’re a great sporting nation but then a Spanish team or athlete wins yet again to put things in perspective – and us in our place.
Last Sunday night, just seven days after Carlos Alcaraz Garfia at 19 became both the US Open champion and the number-one ranked men’s player in world tennis, the Spanish men’s basketball team beat France in the final of Eurobasket, the equivalent of the Euros in the continent’s and world’s second-most popular team sport.