Luis de la Fuente Makes La Roja History During Spain’s 3-0 Win Over Serbia

Is there a team in better form than Luis de la Fuente's Spain right now? Since taking charge, de la Fuente has steered La Roja to a Nations League title in 2023 and followed it up with a Euro 2024 triumph.

His squad has carried that winning momentum into the new Nations League season, sitting comfortably atop their group with 10 points after four games. But their recent 3-0 win over Serbia wasn’t just another dominant performance—it was a historic moment for de la Fuente and Spanish football. 

La Roja maintained their exceptional start to the UEFA Nations League with a 3-0 win over 10-man Serbia. Despite missing several key players, Spain won the game with ease thanks to goals from Alvaro Morata, Aymeric Laporte and Alex Baena. Regular first-team players like Dani Carvajal, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Robin Le Normand were all absent from yesterday’s squad, as they are recovering from injuries. Therefore, for the first time in La Roja’s storied history, their starting lineup didn’t feature a single player from Spain’s traditional powerhouses—Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Atletico Madrid. It was a groundbreaking moment that highlighted just how much Spain’s talent pool has evolved. 

Even more surprising, only four players—Dani Vivian, Alex Baena, Mikel Oyarzabal, and Martin Zubimendi—still play their club football in La Liga. The other eight starters against Serbia are plying their trade outside of Spain. This showcases the truly global nature of today’s football and highlights the incredible depth of talent within Spain's ranks. The fact that La Roja can field such a competitive side without relying on their traditional big three clubs is a testament to how far their talent pool reaches across the footballing world.  

Spain’s 3-0 victory over Serbia means that they currently sit on the top of League A Group 4, three points ahead of second-placed Denmark. More impressively, La Roja have conceded just one goal in four matches and that was against Switzerland, when they were down to ten men. For their next games, de la Fuente’s men travel to Copenhagen to face Denmark on 16th November, before welcoming Switzerland for their final Nations League group stage game on 19th November.