14 June 2009 - Spain's Better-Than-Magical Moment

On 14 June 2009, Spain beat New Zealand for their 33rd consecutive unbeaten match, surpassing the previous record of 32 set by the Magical Magyars of Hungary.

Hungary's streak ran from June 1950 to June 1954 and included the 1952 Olympic gold medal and a trip to the 1954 World Cup Final. After losing 0-1 to Romania in Cadiz on 15 November 2006, Spain started their unbeaten run on 2 February 2007, beating England in a friendly played in Manchester, 0-1. Their streak carried them through qualification for Euro 2008, then through the tournament itself, which they won by beating Germany in the Final. That was their 22nd unbeaten match.

The record-breaking match came in the FIFA Confederations Cup, played in Rustenburg, South Africa. Spain got goals from Fernando Torres (pictured) (6', 14', 17'), Cesc Fabregas (24'), and David Villa (48') en route to a comfortable 0-5 victory. It was their second biggest scoreline during the streak, coming after a 6-0 win over Azerbaijan in a friendly five days earlier.

Spain followed their record victory with wins over Iraq (1-0) and South Africa (2-0) to stretch their unbeaten run to 35 consecutive matches before it ended in the semifinals with a 2-0 loss to the United States.

12 February 2003 - Raúl Takes Two To Become Number One

On 12 February 2003, Raúl González scored two goals in a 3-1 win over Germany to become Spain's all-time top scorer.

Raúl, who played 16 seasons at Real Madrid before moving to Schalke in 2010, made his first full international appearance in 1996. He scored only five times in his first three years, but hit his stride in 1999 with ten goals--the most ever scored for Spain by one player in a single year. He never replicated that performance, but continued to be a reliable striker and took over as captain in 2002.

The friendly with Germany came in the midst of Spain's qualification campaign for Euro 2004. Played in Mallorca, Raúl scored the opening goal in the 30th minute. It was the 30th of his career, beating the former record of 29 held jointly with his Real Madrid teammate Fernando Hierro. Germany's Fredi Bobic equalized for the visitors eight minutes later, but Raúl restored the lead in with a 77th-minute penalty kick. Guti added a third for the hosts to end the day at 3-1.

Raúl scored a total of 44 goals for Spain before his retirement from international play in 2006. While still a record, it is shared with Barcelona forward David Villa who looks likely to surpass it this year.

"No Goals Celebration For David Villa Tonight"

David Villa made a promise that he won't be celebrating Barcelona's goal for tonight match against Valencia at Camp Nou. Villa had joined Valencia for 5 years before he decided to move to Barcelona.
In order to honor his old club and supporters, he decided not to celebrate the goal, although he still admits that he will play his best to create goals for El Barca and brings victory for them.

"This will be an unforgettable match for me. I have many good memories with them, and I don't want to ruin those,"said Villa.

27 June 2006 - France Over Spain, Just Like On The Map

On 27 June 2006, France came back from a one-goal deficit to beat favored Spain 3-1 in the World Cup Round of 16. It was a performance that sent the French on their way to the Final, where they eventually lost to Italy on penalty kicks.

Les Bleus had struggled in the group stage, managing one win (over Togo, 2-0) and two draws (0-0 with Switzerland and 1-1 with South Korea), but finished in their group's second and last advancement spot. Spain, on the contrary, roared through the first round with wins over the Ukraine (4-0), Tunisia (3-1), and Saudi Arabia (0-1) to finish at the top of Group H.

In the Round of 16, it appeared that La Furia Roja were on their way to another win after French defender Lillian Thuram conceded a penalty by knocking Spanish center back Pablo Ibáñez over in the box in the 28th minute. Striker David Villa sent the spot kick to the bottom left corner of the net, just past the outstretched hands of keeper Fabian Barthez, and Spain were up 1-0.

But in the 41st minute, a well-timed Patrick Vieira pass found Franck Ribéry slipping past the Spanish back line. He rounded keeper Iker Casillas and prodded the ball home to draw France level. Vieira then provided the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute, as Spain were unable to handle Zinedine Zidane free kick. It bounced to Vieira in the box and he headed it into the net. Spain pushed forward in search of an equalizer, but were exposed on the counter-attack as Zidane added an insurance goal in the 92nd minute.