Spain Matches Historic International Soccer Record in World Cup Win vs. France

La Roja is 90 minutes away from validating an unprecedented era of dominance with its second World Cup title.

Spain is a well-oiled machine. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Spain’s win over France in the 2026 World Cup semifinal marked La Roja’s 37th consecutive game without defeat in all competitions, going level with Italy for the longest unbeaten run by a European side in international soccer history.

Many expected France to continue its prolific charge towards a third-straight World Cup final, but Spain had other ideas and emphatically defeated Les Bleus 2–0, the third time La Roja has triumphed over France during its now historic unbeaten run.

Under manager Luis de la Fuente, Spain has won 28 games and drawn nine ever since its most recent defeat, a 1–0 loss in an international friendly against Colombia on March 22, 2024. La Roja settled for a 3–3 draw against Brazil four days later and the unprecedented undefeated run started.

Although Spain did fall on spot kicks against Portugal in the 2025 Nations League final, penalty shootout defeats are officially registered as draws.

No one controls like Spain do. pic.twitter.com/BfeQkfH642

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) July 14, 2026

Italy went 37 games unbeaten from 2018–21, collecting the 2020 European Championship title in the process. Curiously, it was Spain, under former manager Luis Enrique, who ended Italy’s unbeaten run with a 2–1 win in the 2021 Nations League semifinal, thanks to a brace from Ferran Torres.

The win against France also saw Spain overtake Argentina’s national record of 36 games unbeaten. Lionel Scaloni’s side saw its undefeated run come to an end when it fell against Saudi Arabia in the opening game of the 2022 World Cup. Now, Scaloni’s Argentina will hope to get past England to have a chance at ending Spain’s run in the 2026 World Cup final.

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Spain 37-Game Unbeaten Run Stats Snapshot

Stat	Tally
Wins	28
Draws	9
Goals Scored	94
Goals Conceded	28
Favorite Opponent	Georgia, France (Three Wins)
Duration	Two years, three months and 19 days

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How Current Spain Team Compares to Golden Generation

Spain is back in a World Cup final after 16 years. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Spain’s 37-game unbeaten run has now left behind the nation’s previous best mark of 35 straight without defeat. La Roja managed this unbeaten run during the infancy of its greatest era of dominance between 2007–09, winning 32 and drawing three games until a 2–0 defeat against the U.S. in the 2009 Confederations Cup semifinal.

Aside from setting the nation’s new greatest unbeaten run, De la Fuente’s Spain is very much making a case to be remembered as La Roja’s greatest ever version, even surpassing what was accomplished during the golden era of 2008–12, when it won two Euros and a maiden World Cup title.

De la Fuente’s Spain became the first team in history to win eight consecutive knockout matches between the Euros and the World Cup.

According to Opta, Aymeric Laporte (22), Mikel Oyarzabal (20), Fabián Ruiz (16), Mikel Merino (14) and Lamine Yamal (14) have now become the top five players with the most World Cup and Euros appearances without ever suffering a defeat. Particularly impressive is Ruiz’s case considering he’s never lost—aside from penalties—in any of his 49 caps for Spain.

Offensively, Mikel Oyarzabal joined David Villa and Emilio Butragueño as the third Spanish player to score five goals in a World Cup campaign, while overtaking Villa for the most goals for Spain in a single calendar season. Defensively, Spain became the first team in history to keep six clean sheets in a World Cup campaign, a simply staggering feat.

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Luis de la Fuente: France Faced the Best Team In The World

Luis de la Fuente seemingly can do no wrong this summer, acing every difficult decision. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

France had been dominant all summer and entered the clash against Spain favored to advance to the final. Given how the game transpired, it’s hard to blame De la Fuente for the overwhelming praise he gave his side following the victory against Les Bleus.

“Before the game we talked,” De la Fuente said. “Our message was that we were going to face maybe one of the best national teams in the world, but they [France] were facing the best team in the world [Spain].”

“I’m constantly surprised by what this team is capable of doing,” De la Fuente added. “It improves with every passing game, every passing competition. That‘s why I always say our room for improvement is infinite.

Don't ever write the Spanish off. pic.twitter.com/GnhtZvDLYB

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) July 14, 2026

“Right now, I think we are in a fantastic moment, the players are are on an exceptional [confidence] high, but also in footballing and physical terms, the team is now at a very, very, very high level ... at this point in the season, which is very hard.”

Spain now awaits the winner of Wednesday’s England vs. Argentina semifinal. Regardless of the opponent, La Roja will likely take the pitch on Sunday’s final as the favorite to lift the trophy, with De la Fuente stating what many are starting to believe.

“[France] had the best team in the world in front of it,” De la Fuente repeated. “That is key. This is a team, and that, well, with a team it’s unstoppable. And that’s the feeling we have right now.”

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