Longest unbeaten streaks in football

Football is the biggest game in the world and nearly every nation plays it. Hence making a name in football might be the toughest job. But, if you can make your name in football, you might be at the top of the world. However, many national football teams with great individual professional players have failed to make a name for themselves as a team. In that case, entering the longest unbeaten streaks in this competitive structure is very tough. However, teams like Italy National Football Team and Brazil National Football Team have made that possible with their game. Along with the Italy Football team, Algeria also going through their longest unbeaten streak in football.

There have been a few unbeaten streaks in football. Brazil and Italy football teams are at the top of that list. Let's take a look at the teams with 4 longest unbeaten streaks-

6 longest unbeaten streaks in football

#1 Italy Football Team | 37 matches (2018-2021)

Roberto Mancini's Italy was on the cusp of history after their 1-1 draw against Bulgaria in a 2022 World Cup qualifier. And, they did not disappoint their fans. They are the team to have the longest unbeaten streak in football history. With the loss against Spain in UEFA Nations League Semi-finals, their unbeaten run of 37 games came to an end.

Italy football team under Mancini is considered as one of the strongest defending teams in recent history. With Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, they have built their game on defence and clean sheets.

The Italy Football Team broke their streak of 30 matches set in 1935-39. In that period, they won the World Cup title (1938) and won an Olympic gold medal in 1936.

#2 Argentina | 36 games (2019-2022 )

Lionel Messi's Argentina broke their own national record. Messi's team last lost a game against Brazil in 2019 Copa America by a 2-0 margin. After that Scaloni's team has been on a mission. They have not been defeated since then till now. Moreover, the team went on to win the Copa America 2021 and then went on to win the Finalissiam 2022 against Italy. They won two back-to-back international trophies within 11 months and won 32 games in between them. However, it was Saudi Arabia who got the better of the South American team as they defeated Argentina in the first match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 to stop Team Messi's unbeaten run in world football.

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#3 Algeria | 35 games (2018-22)

Algeria, the African powerhouse's unbeaten run started on 15/11/19 with a 5-0 win against Zambia in the Africa Cup of Nations Qualification match. Then they went on to beat any team that came in front of them. They would only draw 7 games in their next 34 games, winning 27 of them. After 28 wins and 7 draws, the Algeria team suffered their first loss against Equatorial Guinea in the Africa Cup of Nations match. Algeria football team lost the match by 1-0 which ended the longest unbeaten run in their football history.

#4 Brazil | 35 games (1993-96)

The Brazilian team in 1993-96 has the longest unbeaten run in international football. Their 35-match-long unbeaten run was the glorious team of Dunga, Bebeto and Romario. Their last loss was against Germany in a friendly in November 1993.

After that, they went on to win the World Cup the following summer in 1994. They had beaten Italy 3-2 on penalties in the 1994 World Cup final to continue their unbeaten streak. Their unbeaten streak ended in 35 matches in 1996.

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#5 Spain | 35 games (2007-2009)

The 2007-09 Spain team was probably the best football team ever to play the game. They won everything there was to be won in football.

Their unbeaten winning streak started in 2007, the first fixture a 1-0 win over England at Old Trafford. Then they went on to win the 2008 European Championship after beating Germany in the final. Fernando Torres was the star of the match in the final.

Their unbeaten run ended with the United States in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup. However, that team went on to win the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship. Led by Iker Casials that team might be the greatest international team ever.

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#6 Argentina | 31 games (1991-1993)

With a rich football history, the Latin American giants had their second-longest unbeaten streak in 1991-93.

Their last loss before the streak was against West Germany in the 1990 World Cup final. Then, they came back like a champion team winning the Copa America title in 1991 and 1993. They went unbeaten throughout both tournaments.

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Gabriel Batistuta proved to be their main man during those times. He had scored 16 goals during that unbeaten period. Bautista finished his career with 54 international goals, the then-highest by any Argentine. Eventually, it was broken by Lionel Messi.

Note: This article was first published on August 6, 2021, by Debangshu Biswas. Then, the article was updated by Koushik Biswas over time.