Spain close year with near perfect record and await one of three in NL 1/4

Spain managed to score a victory against Switzerland in the middle of injury time on Monday evening, with Bryan Zaragoza's penalty earning a 3-2 victory. It was another victory for La Roja and another profound demonstration of their strength, involving only the players who started the Euro 2024 final.

It was Spain's twelfth victory in 2024, from thirteen games. They remained undefeated, with their only draw coming against Serbia (0-0). In March they were defeated by Colombia, but that was a friendly match. According to Diario AS, Spain will return to the number one spot in the FIFA rankings if Argentina does not beat Peru on Tuesday evening. It would be their first time at the summit since Vicente del Bosque left.

Their excellent record, which has seen them win five of six Nations League matches, puts them in pot one for the quarter-finals, which will take place in home and away matches in March. Their pot includes Portugal, France and Germany. Denmark also qualified from their group, which means that La Roja will have to face Croatia, Italy or the Netherlands in the spring. At Euro 2024, Spain defeated both Croatia (3-0) and Italy (1-0) in the group stage in Germany. The draw will take place next Friday.

Manager Luis de la Fuente arrived on the job with major doubts, and after a series of off-field missteps and a defeat to Scotland in his second game, his first year did little to assuage them. However, this calendar year has been pretty much perfect for de la Fuente and La Roja, and they will now be favorites for almost every game they play next year.