Spain's national team continued to write a new chapter in its distinguished history after matching Argentina's unbeaten streak, leaving the side just one match away from equalling Italy's all-time record, following their qualification for the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Spanish squad secured their place in the tournament's final four — hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada — after a thrilling 2-1 victory over Belgium in the quarter-finals.
Fabián Ruiz opened the scoring for Spain in the 30th minute of the match, played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, before Charles De Ketelaere equalised for Belgium in the 41st minute. Substitute Mikel Merino then snatched the winning goal and secured qualification in the 88th minute, just minutes after coming on, handing La Roja their ticket to the semi-finals.
With that victory, Spain extended their consecutive unbeaten run to 36 matches, dating back to their defeat against Colombia — a match in which Daniel Muñoz scored the only goal — according to the official website of FIFA.
Spain have now matched the unbeaten streak achieved by Argentina under Lionel Messi between 2019 and 2022, and are just one match away from equalling the record held by Italy, who went 37 consecutive matches without defeat between 2018 and 2021.
Spain continue to chase the dream of lifting the World Cup for a second time in their history, having won the tournament for the first time at the 2010 South Africa edition.
Spain face a formidable semi-final fixture against France, who reached the last four after defeating Morocco 2-0, in a highly anticipated clash between two of the leading contenders for the title.