European champions, Spain easily demolished Azerbaijan 6-0 on Tuesday night in what was the prefect final preparation for the FIFA Confederations Cup starting this Sunday.
La Furia Roja’s resounding victory over the lowly opponents may not cause too much of a panic amongst their main rivals in world football, but it was a triumph that allowed them to set a number of records.
They have now cracked their own unbeaten streak after going 32 consecutive games without defeat. The last time they lost was back in November 2006 when they were stunned 1-0 at home by Romania in a friendly.
La Seleccion now have a chance to chase down the record held by Br azil , who went for 35 games straight without losing between December 1993 and January 1996. It is a target that Vicente del Bosque’s men will equal if they complete their three games in the Confederations Cup group stage undefeated.
Del Bosque himself, meanwhile, has become the first coach in the history of international football to win ten consecutive games upon debut. That record, however, almost came to an end in April during the World Cup qualifier with Turkey when they were locked in a 1-1 draw until Albert Riera popped up with an injury time goal to secure a 2-1 win.
That victory equaled the previous mark of nine wins on the trot held by Br azil ’s Joao Saldanha which has stood since 1969.
In addition, if Spain can pick up two more wins in a row, they will tie Br azil and France ’s record accomplishment of 14 successive victories.
On a personal note, David Villa’s stunning first half hat-trick against the Azerbaijanis has now taken him past Fernando Morientes to become the country’s third all-time leading goalscorer. He has netted 28 times in 44 outings, just one strike behind Fernando Hierro, but 16 adrift of Raul.
‘El Guaje’ told reporters after the game, “It’s always great to surpass the records of such illustrious players."
“My objective is always to score as many goals as possible and I hope that I can hit a good tally in the Confederations Cup.”