One major byproduct of FIFA’s expansion to a 48-team World Cup is that even the best sides can slip a little under the radar.Spain haven’t been spoken about too much since their shock goalless draw to Cape Verde in their opening game. But suddenly, they find themselves in the last eight and look to be in ominous form, the only nation yet to concede a single goal. In fact, Spain have got the record for the longest time without conceding a World Cup goal, with it being 609 minutes played since they conceded to Japan in Qatar in 2022.Their route through to a quarter-final clash with Belgium hasn’t had the thrills and spills of some of the other contenders, but the clinical efficiency of Luis de la Fuente’s side has only become more evident as the competition has progressed. Spain’s status as the best defensive team in the tournament has been no fluke. As we can see from the graphic below, no country who made it through to the last 16 have conceded fewer expected goals (xG) per game than Spain, while they have also allowed the fewest touches in their penalty area. They keep the ball away from their goal more effectively than any of the tournament’s remaining sides.With teams who dominate the ball, like Spain, it can be easy to gloss over the discipline and focus it takes to keep them so secure. Pablo Zabaleta knows what it is like to defend for a possession-heavy side, having spent nine years at Manchester City, and is in awe of Spain’s ability to ensure their structure is solid, even when they have the ball.“Of course, dominating possession means that you can control the flow of the game and deny the opposition the chance to attack too often themselves,” says Zabaleta, now part of FIFA’s Technical Study Group for the summer. “Especially in the final stages where you have to manage the intensity of games, they are so good at controlling things with the ball; it is part of their DNA.”“But it is also part of their principle that by having so many players with short distances between each other when they pass the ball, it allows them to counter-press very quickly when they lose it. That is something that they work on from an early age in Spain, to make sure that players are switched on and in the right place to win the ball back the second they lose it.”Below against Saudi Arabia, we can see the benefits of having what is known as a secure “rest defence”, which outlines how a team structures their players during an attack.They build down the left with a triangle of Pedri, Alex Baena and full-back Marc Cucurella, with the two midfielders looking to apply instant pressure once the pass is cut out. That rushes Musab Al-Juwayr into a quick pass forward, but Spain are able to quickly congregate and pick up the loose ball in the central channel, with four team-mates surrounding Dani Olmo when he retrieves possession. It allows Spain to sustain their territorial dominance, working to exhaust their opponents who have to repel wave after wave of attacks.Here is another example against Austria in the knockout stage. As Lamine Yamal is tackled inside the box, Ralf Rangnick’s team attempt to spring a quick counter-attack. But Rodri is quick to get touch-tight to Marcel Sabitzer and regains the ball within seconds, another instance of Spain reacting sharply to a turnover of possession.