Spain vs Belgium showed how Luis de la Fuente has built a different kind of Spain

Luis de la Fuente's Spain did not need to look flashy to beat Belgium 2-1 in the World Cup quarter-final on 2026-1-2. The better story is the way they keep handling pressure, because Spain are now on a 35-game unbeaten run and De la Fuente has lost just three times since taking over in January 2023. Spain are not just winning. They look settled enough to do it in awkward games, too.

De la Fuente's culture-first approach

"Those of us who have been in a locker room know what it means to be a good person," De la Fuente told BBC Sport. That line sounds simple, but it fits the way this side has been put together. He also said, "Almost every squad has had the opposite, the player who disrupts harmony, who puts himself first."

That is the centre of the argument around this Spain team. De la Fuente has made harmony part of the football, not a side issue. Since January 2023, he has lost only three times, and Spain have won all five of their last five World Cup matches. A team does not post those figures by accident.

The bigger picture is still sitting in front of them. Spain are bidding to become just the fourth team to hold both the World Cup and European Championship crowns at the same time, and their route there has been built on discipline as much as talent.

Calm control against disruption

De la Fuente's own words also explain why this side is so hard to unsettle. "Experience has taught me to face these situations many times. I've been through these games - I've already lived through them and usually lost. Why? Because we didn't know how to play certain types of games," he said. Then he added that when someone rattles you, breaks your focus and changes the rhythm, you can lose control fast.

Spain have not been immune to that kind of pressure, but they have looked better at surviving it than most teams. They conceded just two goals across their last five World Cup matches, and that is the sort of record that comes from structure, not luck. Even after Spain vs Belgium, the point held up: this is a side built to stay composed when a match gets messy.

There is also the question of individuals inside that system, and Lamine Yamal is the clearest example. He came into the tournament after a two-month injury lay-off, has only one World Cup goal and no assists, yet his influence has still been obvious. He leads the tournament with 17 successful dribbles, and his 7.3 rating against Belgium showed he remained useful in a tighter knockout game.

Spain's appeal under De la Fuente is that the football and the culture point in the same direction. They are easier to explain than some of their rivals and, right now, still harder to beat. The next step is the semi-final, and Spain go there with a 35-game unbeaten run intact and a manager who has lost only three times since January 2023.