23 April 1923 - The Young Turks

On 23 April 1923, the Turkish Football Federation formed, creating a national team that would become a force in Europe and eventually reach third place in the World Cup.

Shortly after formation, Turkey joined FIFA, but did not qualify for a World Cup until 1950. They withdrew from that tournament, however, claiming they could not afford to send their team to Brazil for the competition. They did show up in 1954, but were eliminated in a first-round playoff by eventual champions West Germany.

Turkey did not participate in another World Cup until 2002, when they stunned observers by taking third place. Their run in the tournament included wins over China (3-0 in the group stage), co-hosts Japan (0-1 in the Round of 16), and Senegal (0-1 in the quarterfinals) before a second 1-0 loss to Brazil (who had beaten them by the same score in the group stage) sent them to the third-place match. There, they downed the other co-hosts, South Korea, 2-3, in a dominant performance that belies the close margin of victory.

Since 1962, Turkey has been a member of UEFA and has qualified for the European Championship in 1996, 2000, and 2008. In the latter, they advanced to the semifinals with electrifying wins over the Czech Republic and Croation before losing to Germany.

15 November 2006 - The Reign Of Spain Starts After This Game

On 15 November 2006, Romania defeated Spain, 0-1, in a friendly played in Cadiz. The match was Spain's last loss before going on a world record-setting run of 35 matches unbeaten, a streak that also saw them win the 2008 European Championship.

Spain limped into the match against Romania, having been eliminated from the 2006 World Cup by France in the first knockout round and losing their last two matches, a couple of 2008 UEFA Euro qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Sweden. Manager Luis Aragonés shook up his side for the match, calling up Valencia star David Silva for his senior debut along with Celta Vigo's Angel Lopez and Sevilla's Javi Navarro.

Silva threatened a couple of times during a scoreless first half, but Romanian striker Ciprian Marica notched the match's only goal when he beat Iker Casillas with a low second-half shot into the far corner.

Spain rallied after the loss, rattling off a string of 35 unbeaten matches (32 wins, 3 draws) over the next three years. The highlight of that streak was the 1-0 win over Germany in the 2008 UEFA Euro Final. The United States finally ended the run, beating Spain 2-0 on 24 June 2009 in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup.