Spain close year with near perfect record and await one of three in Nations League quarter-finals
11/19/2024 08:00 AM
Spain managed to pull out a victory against Switzerland in the depths of stoppage time on Monday night, with Bryan Zaragoza's penalty securing a 3-2 victory. It was another win for La Roja, and another demonstration of their strength in depth, with only thee players who started the Euro 2024 final involved.
It was Spain's 12th competitive win of 2024, out of 13 matches. They were unbeaten, with their only draw coming against Serbia (0-0). They were beaten by Colombia in March, but that was a friendly. As per Diario AS, Spain will return to the number one spot in the FIFA rankings, if Argentina do not beat Peru on Tuesday night. It would be their first time at the summit since Vicente del Bosque left.
Spain's win over Switzerland means #LaRoja have won 12 of their 13 competitive games in 2024. pic.twitter.com/EvkTghDCn1
— Football España (@footballespana_) November 19, 2024
Their excellent record, winning 5 of 6 Nations League games, qualified them in pot one for the quarter-finals, which will take place in March in home and away ties. Their pot includes Portugal, France and Germany. From their group Denmark also qualified, which means that La Roja will face one of Croatia, Italy or the Netherlands in the spring. During Euro 2024, Spain beat both Croatia (3-0) and Italy (1-0) in the group stages in Germany. The draw will take place this Friday.
Manager Luis de la Fuente arrived in the job with significant doubts, and after a series of faux pas off the pitch, and a defeat to Scotland in his second game, his first year did little to assuage those. This calendar year has been little short of perfect for de la Fuente and La Roja though, and they will now be favourites for almost any game they go into next year.
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