De la Fuente's clear message after 43-match run: "We're not stopping here"

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente said before Sunday's match against England in Madrid that his team want to keep improving and set new records, and that they are "not stopping here".

Spain, unbeaten in their last 43 matches in all competitions (excluding penalty shoot-outs), have put together the longest unbeaten run ever achieved by a European national team.

Spain go into their final group match against England having won all five of their Nations League matches, keeping their perfect record intact. A draw will be enough for Spain to top the group in Sunday's match at the Metropolitano in Madrid. De la Fuente, however, said: "I guarantee you we will not go out to play for a draw. We want to win tomorrow."

Spain have put together a remarkable run, winning 12 consecutive matches in all competitions since drawing 0-0 with Cape Verde in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup. Among European nations, only Spain (15, in June 2009), France (14, in February 2004), Italy (13, in July 2021) and Scotland (13, in March 1885) have managed longer winning runs.

De la Fuente said at Saturday's press conference:

"The national team has already marked an era. In the future we will see whether anyone beats these records. But right now, as of today, this is the national team that has gone the longest unbeaten in the history of world football. But we're not stopping here; we want to keep improving and set other milestones. This team has great ambition and we have one obsession: our next match is always like the last match. As there is a lot of room for improvement, we want to keep doing things even better."

Spain have won seven of their last 10 matches against England (one draw, two defeats). That run includes the 2-1 victory in the Euro 2024 final and the 3-2 Nations League win at Wembley in September.

Since England's win at the Benito Villamarín stadium in October 2018, Spain have lost only one of their 40 home matches in all competitions (31 wins, eight draws; a 2-1 defeat to Switzerland in September 2022). In Madrid, they are unbeaten in 22 matches (17 wins, five draws) since England won 4-2 with four goals from Gary Lineker in February 1987.

De la Fuente, who also assessed his side's opponents, concluded:

"There is very little difference between France, England and Portugal. Anyone can beat you. Two of the most powerful national teams in football, first and third in the FIFA ranking, are facing each other. Both national teams are in their best moment for a long time. The English model is very good, but I prefer the Spanish football model. Ours is a very well-known, easily recognisable model, one closely identified with our players. We could not play like England and England could not play like Spain."