If a week is a long time in football, two years is an age.Since the summer of 2024, Tottenham Hotspur have had four permanent managers, won their first major trophy in 17 years, played in the Champions League and flirted dangerously with relegation.At the start of that period, Pedro Porro was on the fringes of the Spain setup. After a good season with Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou, Luis de la Fuente somewhat surprisingly left him at home as his squad went on to win the European Championship. Now, 24 months on, he has emerged as a key member of the national team aiming to win their second World Cup, and should be considered among the very best right-backs in the world.To explain his absence as Spain marched to victory in Germany at Euro 2024, we should start at the beginning of the Porro debate.Like his club-mate Djed Spence, who often plays on the opposite flank to Porro at Tottenham, it has taken a stellar World Cup campaign for football to appreciate the extent of the Spaniard’s talent. Often characterised by his deficiencies, an attacking side which brings the best out of Porro has maximised his strengths in front of a global audience.Pedro Porro has been a key element of Spain’s success at the World Cup (David Ramos/Getty Images)Ironically, one person who was under no illusions about Porro’s talent was previous head coach Thomas Frank, who was sacked in February after a nightmare seven-month period in north London. Above Micky van de Ven, Argentina’s Cristian Romero — whom Porro will confront in Sunday’s final — or last summer’s marquee signings Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons, Frank believed Porro was the only player who could play for one of Europe’s truly elite clubs.The evidence speaks for itself: Manchester City were among his suitors last summer as Pep Guardiola looked for a new starting right-back, and Real Madrid were among his admirers ahead of the World Cup. Yet there is a feeling that, perhaps until this summer, Porro was not wholly appreciated by club or country.On the senior international stage, Porro’s introduction to De la Fuente could not have been more inauspicious.The right-back had worked with Spain’s head coach at under-21 level and was handed his first start of De La Fuente’s tenure against Scotland in March 2023. Seven minutes into the game, Porro slipped on the ball near the right touchline, allowing Andy Robertson to claim possession and square to Scott McTominay, who put Steve Clarke’s side in front.Pedro Porro speaks to reporters in Dallas, Texas (Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)Porro was substituted at half-time for the more experienced Dani Carvajal, and Spain went on to lose 2-0 — still their last competitive defeat. Porro failed to win his place back from Carvajal, who won the 2024 Champions League with Real Madrid and finished fourth in Ballon d’Or voting.Neither could he displace a 38-year-old Jesus Navas, a natural right-winger who had retreated to right-back in his twilight years with Sevilla and retired from football five months after lifting the European Championship.