Italy’s 37-Game Record Falls as Spain Win 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

Spain shattered Italy’s record of 37 consecutive competitive matches without defeat by beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19, extending their own unbeaten run to 38 games, per Football Italia.

It went all the way to extra time, where Ferran Torres eventually broke down 10-man Argentina to give Spain the trophy. The victory was the culmination of a tournament in which Spain progressed to the final, a match previewed at JuveFC’s World Cup semi-final predictions.

Italy’s Records – Lost and Preserved

Italy’s 37-match unbeaten sequence was built under Roberto Mancini between 2018 and 2021. That record is now history. However, Argentina’s defeat means two other Azzurri landmarks survive intact.

Italy and Germany remain the only nations to have won the World Cup on four occasions, both sitting behind Brazil’s five. Argentina stay on three. Italy also retain their status as one of only two sides – alongside Brazil – to have won consecutive World Cups, having claimed the trophy in both 1934 and 1938; Brazil matched the feat in 1958 and 1962.

A Painful Parallel for the Nazionale

The contrast is uncomfortable viewing for Azzurri supporters. Whatever result had emerged from New Jersey was always going to cost Italy something in the history books – as it turned out, it cost them the record they could least afford to lose.