King's trip shows soccer fixing old rivalries

Spain’s top leader will watch his country play in Mexico later this month, a trip that comes just after he admitted Spain’s colonial past caused real harm. The Mexican president had refused to invite him to her swearing-in earlier this year because Spain’s king didn’t say sorry fast enough. Now, after he finally used strong words about colonial wrongs, she’s offered a place at a World Cup match.Some people in Spain still cheer for the old conquistadors, the military leaders who took control of the Americas centuries ago. One Spanish politician even cut a trip short after visiting a statue of Hernan Cortés and calling his arrival “a gift of civilization. ” Yet most Spaniards today seem to agree that the conquest brought suffering to Indigenous groups. The match in Guadalajara won’t only decide points— it might help smooth things between two nations that share language and history but still argue over how to remember the past. Spain kicks off against Uruguay while Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia watch from the sidelines. This will be Spain’s first game in Mexico during a tournament split across three countries.