Spain reach 41 unbeaten, but which team top football’s all-time list?

Lamine Yamal scored again as Spain stretched their remarkable unbeaten run to 41 games with a 3-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the Nations League today.

Yamal opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a stunning finish before captain Rodri Hernandez doubled Spain’s advantage in the 35th minute. Jiri Slama pulled one back for the Czechs, but Mikel Merino sealed Spain’s third win in as many Group A3 games late on after Ladislav Krejci was sent off.

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The victory kept the world champions three points clear of England and, more significantly, extended a run that has already rewritten the men's international record books.

Spain's current streak consists of 31 wins and 10 draws, and includes their iconic World Cup final triumph over Argentina in July.

They have now gone four games further than Italy's previous men's world record of 37 matches unbeaten, achieved under Roberto Mancini between 2018 and 2021. Argentina's 36-game run from 2019 to 2022 and Brazil's 35-match streak in the mid-1990s also now sit behind Spain.

Yet, remarkably, 41 is still not the highest number in international football.

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USA Women's football team which went 51 matches unbeaten. Photo: X

The United States women's national team hold that distinction, having gone 51 matches unbeaten from December 2004 to September 2007. They also went 44 matches unbeaten from 2019 to 2021.

And once club football enters the picture, the numbers become even more extraordinary.

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AC Milan's legendary 'Invincibles' team. Photo: Instagram

In Europe's top five leagues, AC Milan's legendary 'Invincibles' remain the benchmark. Milan went 58 Serie A matches without defeat between 1991 and 1993, building one of the most celebrated unbeaten runs in European club football.

The continental record, however, belongs to Steaua Bucuresti. The Romanian giants went 104 league matches unbeaten between 1986 and 1989, a staggering run that lasted for more than three years.

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The legendary Romanian outfit Steaua Bucuresti. Photo: Facebook

Even that mark has been surpassed on the global stage.

For decades, the longest unbeaten run in a domestic league was held by Ivorian powerhouse ASEC Mimosas, who went 108 matches without defeat between 1989 and 1994.

That record has now been eclipsed by Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT), whose active domestic unbeaten run has reached 117 matches.

JDT moved level with ASEC Mimosas in the final game of last season with a scarcely believable 14-1 victory over Kelantan The Real Warriors -- the biggest win in Malaysian Super League history -- as they secured a record-extending 12th consecutive league title.

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Johor Darul Ta'zim's players celebrate with the trophy after winning against Kuching City to secure a record-extending 12th consecutive league title last year. Photo: AFP

They then moved beyond ASEC's 32-year-old mark this season and have continued to stretch it, with their latest victory coming in a 7-2 away thrashing of Penang in the Malaysia FA Cup.

So, while Spain are currently rewriting the men's international record books, De la Fuente's side still have plenty of ground to cover to reach football's ultimate unbeaten milestones.

For now, though, 41 games without defeat has placed Spain firmly among the game's most enduring sides -- with Yamal and company showing no immediate signs of stopping.