The Spain That Does Not Lose: 43 Matches That Rewrite International Football
Dr. Talal Othman, General Manager - GCC Sport
The question is no longer who can beat Spain. The question is who remembers the last time they lost. Since March 2024, La Roja have won two major tournaments and played 43 matches without a defeat.
On Thursday 12 November 2026, Spain beat Czechia 2-0 in the UEFA Nations League. Álex Baena and Marc Pubill scored. Lamine Yamal did not play because of knee pain. It looked like a routine win, but it took the run to 43 consecutive matches without a defeat. No national team has reached that number before.
Where the run started
Spain last lost on 22 March 2024, a 1-0 friendly defeat to Colombia. Four days later they drew 3-3 with Brazil at the Santiago Bernabéu. They have not lost since.
The record now reads 34 wins and 9 draws. In competitive matches only, the run is 44, because that count starts earlier, in June 2023.
Trophies, not only numbers
This run was not built on friendlies against weak teams. It contains the two biggest titles in the game:
- Euro 2024: the European title in Germany.
- World Cup 2026: the second world title in Spain’s history, won on 19 July in the United States.
At the World Cup, Spain equalled Italy’s record of 37 with a 2-0 win over France in the semi-final. They took the record alone in the final. The historic number fell in the biggest match on earth, not in a quiet international window.
On the way they beat Portugal 1-0 and Belgium 2-1. They then returned to Europe as world champions and beat England 3-2 at Wembley, Croatia 4-1 in Seville and 2-1 away, and Czechia twice. That is 5 wins from 5 group matches, and 12 wins in a row.
The small print
Honesty requires one note. Spain lost the 2025 Nations League final to Portugal on penalties. FIFA and UEFA record a match decided by a shootout as a draw, so the run continued. Spain lost a trophy that night, but they did not lose a match.
Where Spain stand among the great runs
| Team | Matches | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 43 (ongoing) | 2024 - 2026 |
| Italy | 37 | 2018 - 2021 |
| Argentina | 36 | 2019 - 2022 |
| Brazil | 35 | 1993 - 1996 |
| Spain | 35 | 2007 - 2009 |
| Senegal | 33 | 2023 - 2025 |
| Morocco | 33 | 2025 - 2026 |
Spain have beaten their own history. The team of Aragonés and Del Bosque stopped at 35. The team of De la Fuente has gone 8 matches further and is still playing. Morocco also deserve a mention: their 33 matches put an Arab team among the best seven runs of all time.
Why Spain do not lose
One coach, one project. Luis de la Fuente has led the full run. The idea of play has not changed from one tournament to the next.
Depth that does not depend on a star. The latest win came without Yamal and without Oyarzabal. When the replacements score in a record match, the system is the star.
The first goal decides the match. Since the defeat to Japan at the 2022 World Cup, Spain have scored first in 43 matches and lost none of them: 37 wins and 6 draws.
Hunger. After the win in Croatia, De la Fuente called his players “insatiable”. Most champions relax after a World Cup. This team has won every match since.
The next test
On Sunday 15 November, Spain host England at the Metropolitano in Madrid. England have lost to Spain twice during this run and still want revenge for the Euro 2024 final. There is a personal record in play too. Fabián Ruiz has gone 53 consecutive matches without a defeat for Spain, and Carlos Marchena’s record is 57.
Every run ends. Italy’s 37 ended against Spain. But this generation has done more than set a number: a European title, a world title, and 43 matches without a defeat in two years and eight months. Records fall. This era will remain the standard for every national team that follows.
By Dr. Talal Othman, General Manager - GCC Sport
