Following an unprecedented period of dominance from 2008 to 2012, Spain are experiencing a new golden age on the international football scene.
Luis de la Fuente inherited the hotseat following La Roja's last-16 elimination against Morocco at the 2022 World Cup and defeat has been a rarity under his stewardship.
Spain triumphed in the 2023 Nations League before claiming a fourth European Championship crown by defeating England 2-1 in the final at Wembley.
The nation then reached the final of the Nations League again last year, albeit losing to Portugal on penalties, but their ability to win matches has continued at this year's World Cup as Spain progressed to their first final since 2010 by defeating France 2-0.
A player who's featured prominently under De la Fuente across the previous three-and-a-half years is midfielder Fabian Ruiz.
The Paris Saint-Germain ace made his 49th appearance for his country during the semi-final triumph over France and in doing so, extended his astonishing unbeaten record in international football.
Ruiz made his Spain debut under Robert Moreno in 2019 against the Faroe Islands and scored his first goal for his country against Romania in a European qualifier in November that year.
Included in Luis Enrique's Euro 2020 squad, Ruiz made just three substitute appearances as Spain reached the semi-finals, but the midfielder - at Napoli at the time - was left out of Enrique's 26-strong party for the 2022 World Cup.
Ruiz had won a total of 15 caps prior to De la Fuente's appointment, but he hadn't started a match for Spain since an international friendly against Portugal in June 2021 when he was recalled to the national team for a Euro 2024 qualifier against Norway in March 2023.
The Real Betis academy graduate started in all but one of Spain's matches on their path to European Championship glory in Germany. At this year's World Cup, he's started three of La Roja's seven matches, most notably displacing Pedri for the quarter-final win over Belgium and retaining his place for the semi-final against France.
If Spain win the World Cup on Sunday, it will extend Ruiz's unbeaten record to 50 matches - the joint second-longest undefeated streak for an individual in international football alongside Brazil's Aldair.
Fabian Ruiz's international record
Played | 49 |
Won | 34 |
Drawn | 15 |
Lost | 0 |
