Is the Spanish football team now the greatest international team ever? The question could have sounded preposterous a couple of decades ago. In 1982, for instance, when the country hosted the FIFA World Cup, it was knocked out after defeat to West Germany and a draw with England in the second round. In Euro 84, Spain made it to the finals where it was defeated 2-0 by France. It qualified for the 1986 World Cup but was knocked out in the quarter-finals, fell to a 2-1 defeat to Yugoslavia in the second round of the 1990 World Cup, lost 2-1 to Italy in the 1994 World Cup quarter-finals and continued this losing streak by being knocked out of the Euro 2000 quarter-finals by France.

There was a flash of brilliance between November 2006 and June 2009, of course, when the team went undefeated for 35 consecutive matches before losing to the United States.