The Spanish National Football Team will participate in the upcoming 2024 Eurocopa, to be held in Germany, continuing a path of success in the qualification stages that has extended for 30 years now. During this time, there have been 16 qualifying processes, between European Championships and World Cups, that Spain has always surpassed. In 14 of them, Spain has also concluded this phase as the group leader.
One must go back to 1992, during the Eurocopa held in Sweden, to not see Spain in the final phase. That tournament had only 8 participating countries in that phase, and our team was left out in a group stage where they faced France, Czechoslovakia, Iceland, and Albania. The French were the national team qualified in that group 1, after winning all 8 matches; Spain finished third in that qualifying round, with 6 points, after winning 3 matches.
Since that event, Spain has never missed the final stages of the subsequent Eurocopas: from 1996, held in England, to 2024 in Germany, for which the team led by Luis de la Fuente already has its ticket. Furthermore, since 2008, Spain has always qualified as the group leader, adding 4 European tournaments with that condition, pending what happens in the upcoming matches of this current phase. For the Euro 2004, hosted in Portugal, Spain secured its spot as the second in the group and through the playoffs.
In all the World Cups since 1978
Regarding the World Cups, Spain - which has not missed the final stages since 1974 - has secured its last four tickets as the group leader. It was the case for South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, and Qatar 2022. However, to reach Germany 2006, the team had to go through the playoffs, after finishing second in the group stage.
On that occasion, Spain did not lose any matches in that round, but Serbia and Montenegro qualified directly as the group leader, and the team led by Luis Aragonés had to fight against Slovakia. A 5-1 victory at the Vicente Calderón on November 12, 2005, allowed them to arrive comfortably at the Tehelné Polne stadium in Bratislava four days later. The 1-1 draw achieved on Slovakian soil was enough.
Having qualified for the last 16 major tournaments, Spain stands out as the only one in the European scene. Only our national team has managed to consecutively surpass so many qualifying processes. Germany, which has also been present in all European Championships and World Cups since 1994, did not have to secure their ticket for these 16 events on the pitch: on two occasions (the 2006 World Cup and the upcoming Euro), the Germans were present in the final phase as hosts; while on another occasion (the 2018 World Cup in Russia), they had their qualification guaranteed as reigning champions.
More information:
Norway 0 - Spain 1 Match Summary
How the National Team celebrated their ticket to Germany