Are Spain occupying first place? Not at present (3-3)
I believe the answer is:
age-old
'place? not at present' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'are spain occupying first' is the wordplay.
'are' becomes 'a' (short for 'are', historical unit of measurement).
'spain' becomes 'e' (abbreviation for Espana).
'occupying' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters occupy or enter the word).
'first' becomes 'gold' (I've seen this before).
'e' placed within 'gold' is 'geold'.
'a'+'geold'='AGE-OLD'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for age-old that I've seen before include "Having been around for many years" , "Extremely ancient" , "Lasting from times long ago" , "Dating from long ago" , "Hallowed by antiquity" .)