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It all began in Scotland and this impressive streak remains unbroken. That memorable night at Hampden marked merely Luis de la Fuente's second outing as Spain's head coach; many believed it might prove to be his final assignment. Despite two Scott McTominay goals overcoming La Furia Roja, whereas virtually everyone anticipated his spell would be short-lived, the coach talked about a route opening - and interestingly, the manager once accused of living in Disneyland turned out right.

36 months and later, Spain advanced to within touching distance of World Cup qualification, and also racking up their 29th straight competitive game without defeat, matching the legendary record.

Midfield Masterclass and Decisive Contribution

On a night when the Barcelona midfielder played and Mikel Merino made the decisive impact, Spain defeated Bulgaria 4-0 to secure a perfect dozen from twelve in qualifying, edging closer. The Gunners' playmaker and sometime forward netted the first two goals and could have earned his second hat-trick in three Spain matches but when brought down in the closing minute, he selflessly passed the spot-kick to Mikel Oyarzabal instead.

Therefore it was La Real striker, scorer of the decisive goal in the Euro 2024 final, who continued the remarkable sequence, matching what Vicente del Bosque's legendary squad achieved between 2010 and 2013.

Historic Achievement

Now, you might have noticed the symbol, and rightly so. Although FIFA might not count it as a defeat, during this impressive run Spain actually lose once – seven-five on penalties to Portugal in the Nations League final back in June. However officially at least, this present team has equaled that historic team against which all Spanish sides are compared.

Win in Georgia in thirty days and the achievement will be theirs alone. En route they won the Nations League in 2023, the European Championships in 2024 and reached a Nations League final in 2025; they head toward 2026 sitting number one, among the favorites once more, just like previous eras.

Complete Domination

This was "only" versus Bulgaria, it is true, just as previous matches against Georgia, Bulgaria, and Turkey but that's four victories from four outings, aggregate score fifteen-zero. There were two moments immediately after La Selección obtained their first two goals – the third strike being an own goal – but eventually their opponents had not been permitted a single shot on target.

The total statistics showed: 33-3, Spain demonstrably playing as Spain. Bulgaria's coach had admitted the sole objective his team could have was to resist as long as possible. Ultimately, that defensive effort lasted thirty-three minutes, and Merino's header represented Spain's eighteenth attempt on target already.

Pedri's Masterclass

The display was about the entire team, but at the core of it was Pedri, ubiquitous and elusive at once: everywhere for Spain, absent for Bulgaria, incapable to detect him as he darted through their defense. He executed 101 passes by the time he was withdrawn to a rapturous applause on the sixty-sixth minute, and his were the instances of utmost subtlety, the finest touches and the sharpest too.

When the José Zorrilla sang his name during the opening period, he had just drifted unnoticed into the penalty box again, dinking his shot over Svetoslav Vutsov and onto the woodwork, but it was not only that. He had already lifted a magnificent pass into Álex Baena to strike wide and delivered another pass from which Baena was blocked.

Continued Pressure

An cleverly weighted pass had set Samu Aghehowa up for what ought to have been the opener, and a precise pass saw Oyarzabal scuff his attempt. He got a opportunity of his own only to fail to find a proper contact, volleying wide.

But then, almost immediately after, he delivered another ball in. This time Robin Le Normand nodded across and Merino headed in. Spain, who had 88% of the ball, now had the lead. The heat map looked like they had run out of marking paint half way through and a moment later Aghehowa might have made it two.

Brief Resistance

But then in part it's the unpredictability, even the unfairness, that makes football great. And the first time Bulgaria got into Spain's half they might have leveled the score, Kiril Despodov abruptly sprinting away and striking the outside of the net.

Introduced for Aghehowa at the half-time, Borja Iglesias had multiple opportunities in as many minutes before Merino scored once more. The cross from the left flank was superb from Álex Grimaldo and there, jumping above everyone, was Merino to direct the header downward and dash off to do laps around the corner flag.

Closing Stages

As they had after the opener, Bulgaria escaped once more, Despodov played through and sending his and their following shot wide and nevertheless the initial instance the away team had a shot on target it was at the incorrect goal, Atanas Chernev turning into his own net. Still it was not quite done, Merino kicked in the shins and allowing to let Oyarzabal smash in the 99th goal of De la Fuente's ongoing reign.