Spain Enters Nations League Matchday 5 Unbeaten in 43 Games

Winning the World Cup was always the plan. What nobody had written down anywhere was that, just a few months after lifting the second star, Spain would keep playing as if it still had something to prove. And that is exactly the message Luis de la Fuente keeps repeating as the year winds down: no step back, no concessions, not an ounce of letting up.

La Roja faces Matchday 5 of the UEFA Nations League with two fixtures that, on paper, look routine but actually carry a different kind of pressure: the pressure of keeping alive something that is starting to sound like a feat. Spain arrives unbeaten in 43 official matches, riding a streak of 11 consecutive wins. Numbers that, said out loud, almost sound exaggerated, but they're real, backed up by results on the field.

It all starts on March 28, 2023, the date of Spain's last defeat, that stumble against Scotland that now feels like it belongs to another era. Since then: 36 wins and seven draws. Along the way came the 2023 Nations League title, the 2024 European Championship, and, as the crowning achievement, the 2026 World Cup title, sealed with a 1-0 win over Argentina in the final thanks to a Ferran Torres goal in extra time.

If there's one stat that sums up this team's current form better than any other, it's this: Spain's last draw came on June 15, a 0-0 result against Cape Verde in its World Cup opener. Everything since then has been a win. Seven of them came on the road to the second star, and four more have followed in this Nations League campaign.

With Lamine Yamal established as the flagbearer of this generation, and names like Pedri, Cubarsí, Rodri, Olmo and Cucurella holding up the project, Spain wants to make clear that the World Cup wasn't a finish line but the start of a new cycle. That said, the Barcelona forward will be unavailable this Thursday against Czechia due to knee discomfort.

"There's room to improve"

De la Fuente isn't getting carried away by the numbers, and he said so plainly ahead of the match in Prague:

We want to be ourselves, be a better team, compete better, improve our individual performances. I think there's still room to improve. If we drift away from that goal, we'll make things easier for our opponents.Luis de la Fuente

The coach also pointed out that the first meeting against the Czechs, a 3-1 win for Spain in Oviedo, was anything but straightforward:

There's no easy match in international football. At the competitive level things are very even. There are arguments to win any given match. We come into this one having learned our lesson, knowing it's going to be very hard.Luis de la Fuente

The first test comes this Thursday, November 12, at Letná Stadium in Prague, against Czechia. Three days later, on Sunday the 15th, Spain will host England at the Metropolitano in Madrid, a clash between two heavyweights that could decide who finishes top of the group. A quarterfinal berth is already secured, but La Roja doesn't want to close out the year just any old way: it wants to finish on top.