Spain Reach 40-Match Unbeaten Run After 4-1 Croatia Win

Spain’s latest victory added another line to a run that has become one of international football’s defining modern streaks. Luis de la Fuente’s European and world champions beat Croatia 4-1 on Tuesday night to reach 40 matches without a defeat in normal or extra-time play.

The move

The unbeaten sequence began after Spain lost 1-0 at home to Colombia on 22 March 2024. Since then, La Roja have gone 40 games without being beaten on the pitch, posting 29 wins and 11 draws.

Three of those drawn fixtures were ultimately converted into Spanish victories: two after extra time and one through penalties. The only defeat recorded in that wider period came in the 2025 Nations League final, when Portugal won the shoot-out after a 2-2 draw, prevailing 5-3 on penalties.

Spain’s run has included the Euro 2024 title and the 2026 World Cup, where they secured the trophy with a 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina.

A record beyond Italy and Argentina

The 40-match sequence is now the longest unbeaten stretch achieved by a national team when penalty shoot-out losses are excluded.

Roberto Mancini’s Italy had previously set a formidable standard, staying unbeaten for 38 matches from 10 September 2018 until 6 October 2021. Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina followed with a 37-game run between 2018 and 2021.

Further down the list are Romario’s Brazil, unbeaten in 35 games from 1993 to 1996, and another Spain side which reached 35 matches without defeat between 2007 and 2009 before the country’s first World Cup triumph.

How Spain compare with club football

Spain have passed the 40-game mark, although several European clubs have produced longer unbeaten spells across all competitions.

Only around 10 club sides have managed more than 40 matches without losing. De la Fuente’s Spain are now within range of that group, with Croatia brushed aside and the national record already theirs.