Spain's 43-game unbeaten streak and the Nations League window

The unbeaten streak explained

An unbeaten streak in international football is a run of consecutive official matches in which a national team has not lost. Wins and draws both keep it going. Only a defeat ends it. This makes it different from a winning streak, which stops at the first draw.

According to ESPN, Spain extended their run to 43 games by coming from behind to beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League on a Tuesday. The publication describes the result as Spain's fourth win of the current international window. It also reports that coach Luis de la Fuente called his side, who are the world champions, "insatiable" and said they have no plans to ease off.

The figure is a count of matches, not a measure of quality. It covers every opponent Spain have faced in that period, whether in a competitive fixture or a friendly. A long run against varied opposition says something about consistency. On its own it does not say how strong the opponents were or how close the matches were.

The origins of streak counting

Long unbeaten runs have been recorded for as long as international results have been kept. Results are logged by national associations, by the confederations and by FIFA, and they are collected by statisticians and the media. The idea is simple. It became a common way of describing a team's dominance because a single number is easy to follow across competitions and calendar years.

The Nations League, the competition in which this latest match was played, is a much newer arrival. UEFA created it to replace a large share of the friendlies that used to fill international windows, so that European teams play more competitive matches against opponents of similar standing. Because Nations League matches are official competitive internationals, they count towards a streak in exactly the same way as qualifiers or tournament matches.

The streak and the Nations League today

International football is played in windows set by FIFA's international match calendar. During these periods clubs must release players for national team duty. A window usually holds a small number of matches, and a team can play competitive fixtures and friendlies within it. ESPN's account shows that Spain played at least four matches in this window and won all of them. The details of the other fixtures are not given in the material available here.

The Nations League is organised in tiers known as leagues, with the strongest teams in the top tier. Within each league, teams play in small groups, home and away. Promotion and relegation between tiers depend on where a team finishes in its group. The best teams in the top tier go on to a knockout stage that decides the trophy.

The competition also feeds into the European Championship. In past cycles, Nations League standings have influenced seeding for qualifying draws and opened a play-off route for teams that missed out through their qualifying groups. The exact link changes from cycle to cycle and is set out in UEFA's regulations for each edition. A Nations League match is therefore more than a standalone game. It affects a team's tier, its seeding and sometimes its route to a major tournament.

For the streak, the format matters for a practical reason. The tiered system puts strong teams up against each other regularly, so a run kept alive in the top tier has been tested against high-ranked opponents rather than built up through easier friendlies.

Common misconceptions

Unbeaten does not mean winning every game. A run of 43 unbeaten matches can include draws. The figure reported by ESPN does not show how many of those games were wins.

Penalty shoot-outs are usually treated as draws. In official statistical records, a match settled by a shoot-out generally goes down as a draw, whoever goes through. This means a team can be knocked out of a competition on penalties without its unbeaten streak ending. Many readers expect the opposite.

Friendlies count. Some readers assume only competitive matches count towards a streak. In practice, full internationals between senior national teams are normally included, whatever the competition. Matches against club sides or unofficial selections are not.

A streak is not a ranking. FIFA's world ranking does not reward a team for the length of an unbeaten run. It uses a points system based on each result, the strength of the opponent and the importance of the match. Nations League fixtures are weighted more heavily than friendlies. A long unbeaten run will usually push a team up the rankings, but only indirectly.

Records depend on the source. Different statisticians sometimes disagree over which matches count as full internationals, so claims about all-time records can differ between sources. The material behind this article does not say where Spain's run sits historically, so no comparison is made here.

Where to look next

The best source on how the Nations League works is UEFA's official regulations for the current edition. They set out the league structure, tiebreakers, promotion and relegation, and any link to European Championship qualifying. FIFA publishes the international match calendar and the method behind its world ranking, which explain when national teams can play and how results are weighted.

For the match itself and the coach's comments, ESPN's original report is the primary account. National association websites, including that of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, keep official records of their team's results and are the most reliable place to check which matches count towards a streak.

Frequently asked questions

How many games are Spain unbeaten in?

ESPN reports that Spain's unbeaten run reached 43 games after they came from behind to beat Croatia 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League. An unbeaten run counts consecutive official matches without a defeat, so both wins and draws keep it going. The report does not split the run into wins and draws, so the number of draws within the 43 matches is not known from that material.

Does a draw end an unbeaten streak?

No. A draw ends a winning streak but not an unbeaten streak. An unbeaten streak continues for as long as a team avoids defeat, so draws simply add to the count. That is why a long unbeaten run can look more impressive than a team's winning record. It measures how hard a side is to beat, not how often it wins.

Do penalty shoot-outs count as defeats in streaks?

In official statistical records, a match decided by a penalty shoot-out is generally recorded as a draw, whichever side goes through. A national team can therefore be eliminated from a knockout competition on penalties and still keep its unbeaten streak. Statisticians and media outlets usually follow this convention, but readers comparing records from different sources should check how each one treats shoot-outs.

Do UEFA Nations League matches count as competitive internationals?

Yes. Nations League fixtures are official competitive matches between senior national teams, organised by UEFA. They count towards unbeaten streaks and all-time records in the same way as qualifiers and tournament matches. In FIFA's world ranking they also carry more weight than friendlies, so the results matter for a team's ranking as well as for its position within the competition.

How is the Nations League linked to European Championship qualifying?

In past cycles, UEFA has used Nations League standings to help seed qualifying draws and to give some teams that failed to qualify through their groups a play-off route. The exact arrangement is set separately for each tournament cycle in UEFA's regulations. Supporters who want to know how current Nations League results could affect the next European Championship should check the regulations for that specific edition.

Sources and further reading

• ESPN: the original match report on Spain's comeback win over Croatia and the coach's comments
• UEFA: official Nations League regulations covering format, tiers, promotion, relegation and qualifying links
• FIFA: the international match calendar and the published method behind the men's world ranking
• Royal Spanish Football Federation: official records of Spain's national team results