Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Luis de la Fuente said Spain “don’t want to die of success” after seeing their unbeaten run reach 40 games, warning there will always be room for the world champions to improve.
Lamine Yamal helped himself to a brace and was joined on the scoresheet by Marc Pubill and Nico Williams as La Roja crushed Croatia 4-1 in the Nations League on Tuesday, building on their thrilling 3-2 victory over England at Wembley three days earlier.
Their unbeaten streak, which was already a record by a European or South American nation coming into this international break, now stands at 40 games since they lost 1-0 to Colombia in a friendly in March 2024.
Their last competitive defeat came all the way back in March 2023, when they were beaten 2-0 by Scotland in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
Spain were dominant at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, amassing 1.81 expected goals (xG) to Croatia’s 0.47 and posting a 63.8% possession share.
But De la Fuente has warned there is no room for complacency ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Czechia and the return fixture in Croatia next Tuesday.
“The first half could have ended 4-1 or 5-1 and the second half was more of the same,” De la Fuente told reporters afterwards, as quoted by Marca.
“We had a team in front of us that defends well, that attacks the aerial balls with power, and we have to get our act together in those situations.
“I am a perfectionist. I am convinced that you can always improve, and these players are the same. The room for improvement is very large.
“They haven’t reached their ceiling and it’s a very young team.
“One day someone will beat us, and we will say the opposite. Things can be improved – we don’t want to die of success.”
9 – @SEFutbol ha ganado cada uno de sus últimos nueve partidos en todas las competiciones.
Iguala su mejor racha de victorias con Luis de la Fuente como seleccionador (9V entre junio y julio de 2024).
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 29, 2026
Spain have won nine straight games in all competitions, matching their previous best streak under De la Fuente, which came between June and July 2024.
Both of those sequences included a major tournament win, with La Roja lifting the Euro 2024 and 2026 World Cup trophies.
Yamal’s brace came less than a month before the Ballon d’Or award ceremony, with the Barcelona winger competing with Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane to be crowned the world’s best player.
And De la Fuente believes Yamal deserves greater recognition for his out-of-possession work, saying: “Lamine is eager to continue growing and show the world the type of player he is. He is so humble and this makes him greater.
“We all enjoy his magic at the service of the team, and in the future, he will be much more recognised for what he does for the collective game. We’re lucky to have him.
“The Ballon d’Or owes much to Spanish football and our players are the best in the world.
“It doesn’t matter if it is Lamine, Fabian [Ruiz], Rodri, [Marc] Cucurella or Ferran [Torres]. Hopefully they will value us.”
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