Spain equal Argentina's record with 36-game unbeaten run after late Belgium win
Spain defeated Belgium 2-1 in the World Cup quarterfinals, extending their unbeaten streak to 36 games and matching Argentina's record. Mikel Merino scored the decisive late goal, setting up a semifinal clash against France.
Why it matters
This is a significant milestone in international football history, as Spain nears the all-time unbeaten record held by Italy.
Mikel Merino's dramatic 88th-minute winner against Belgium at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Friday night sent Spain into the World Cup semifinals and simultaneously equalled Argentina's record for the second-longest unbeaten run in men's international football history.Spain's 2-1 victory over Belgium means they have now gone 36 consecutive matches without a defeat, matching the run Argentina compiled between 2019 and 2022, a sequence that culminated in their World Cup triumph in Qatar. Only Italy's extraordinary 37-game unbeaten streak between 2018 and 2021 stands ahead of Spain in the all-time list.The record-equalling win was anything but straightforward. Spain took the lead through Fabián Ruiz in the 30th minute, only to be pegged back by Charles De Ketelaere's equaliser in the 41st minute, the first goal Spain had conceded in the entire 2026 World Cup, ending Unai Simón's historic clean-sheet streak.
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