Spanish and Finnish players try to prevent a fight between Spain's David Silva (21) and Finland's Niklas Moisander during Friday's 1-1 draw in a World Cup qualifying match in Gijón, Spain. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Even the mightiest empires had turning points in their history. Setbacks, however minor, that eventually led to their decline.

Spain's "Furia Roja"—"The Red Fury", and rarely has a nickname felt so apt—have enjoyed an unprecedented hegemony over world soccer at the national team level for the past six years.

Before it, no nation had ever won three consecutive major tournaments: the 2008 and 2012 European Championships and the 2010 World Cup. Between March 2007 and June 2009, it put together a 24-game undefeated streak in competitive matches.

Impressive as that was, after its 1-1 home draw with Finland on Friday, Spain has now gone another 24 competitive games without a loss, dating back to June 2010.

Yet if celebrations were somewhat muted after the Finland game, it's understandable. It marked the second straight competitive game in which the Spaniards had failed to win on home soil (they drew 1-1 with France back in October).

The bulk of the Spanish team wasn't even alive the last time that happened—more than 30 years ago, at the 1982 World Cup, when it lost to West Germany (2-1) and then limped out of the tournament following a 0-0 draw with England, becoming the first host nation ever to bow out of soccer's biggest showcase in the first round.

That may well be a statistical quirk. What is less quirky—and rather more worrying—is the way Spain's qualifying group is shaking out. With four of its eight games already played, Spain is second with eight points, two behind table-topping France, whom it visits on Tuesday.

Given that only group winners are guaranteed a spot in the World Cup, with runners-up having to go through a two-legged playoff against one of the second-placed nations in one of the other European groups, things could get tricky for the world champions.

Defeat would leave Spain five points behind Les Bleus and almost certainly condemn Vicente Del Bosque's men to the playoffs. A draw would keep the two-point gap intact, but Spain would no longer control its destiny. The side would need France to drop points against its remaining opponents, Georgia, Belarus or Finland, which at this stage seems unlikely.

Slipping into the playoffs would be more of an inconvenience than a tragedy. But it does raise the question of whether Spain's Red Fury is on the wane.

As a group, it remains as deep as any in world soccer. In some areas—such as midfield—Spain is so stacked with talent that, at times, Del Bosque has famously opted for a formation without a designated striker just so he could cram as many midfielders as possible into his starting lineup.

Longtime stalwarts Xavi Hernandez and Xabi Alonso, who have an incredible 225 caps between them, may be the wrong side of 30, but the trio of Javi Martinez (24), Sergio Busquets (24) and Cesc Fabregas (25) are just hitting the prime of their careers.

Meanwhile, attacking midfielders like Isco, Juan Mata, Santi Cazorla and David Silva would probably be guaranteed a spot on most top national sides, but have to scratch and claw for playing time with Spain.

There's a similar abundance at goalkeeper, where as many as four different men could easily line up between the sticks without Spain missing a beat.

Yet elsewhere, options are comparatively limited. In central defense, once you get past Sergio Ramos and Gerard Piqué, you have to rely on folks like Carles Puyol, who turns 35 next month and appears to be on the slide. Or Raul Albiol, who isn't a regular at Real Madrid, as evidenced by the fact that, since June 2011, he has started as many games for Spain as he has league matches for his club: 12.

Up front, there are plenty of options, but none appears to fit the bill in terms of longevity, reliability and quality.

David Villa, Spain's all-time leading goal scorer, missed the first eight months of 2012 through injury and, since his return, has struggled to find space at Barcelona, lasting 90 minutes just six times in the past 15 months.

At 31, he's not getting younger either and, what's more, he is often deployed on the wing. Fernando Llorente, an old-school battering ram of a center forward, has been embroiled in a contractual dispute all season long with Athletic Bilbao. He'll be leaving via free agency in the summer and, as a result, has started just one league game this year.

The other Fernando, Torres, has been a byword for underachievement since his $75 million move to Chelsea in January 2011 and it's no coincidence he wasn't even called up to the latest Spain squad. Nor was Valencia's Roberto Soldado, a consistent scorer over the years at the club level but one who doesn't appear to fit the bill on the international scene.

Thus, apart from Villa, the only genuine striker included in the squad for these qualifiers was Alvaro Negredo, a fine player but also one whose club, Seville, is stuck in mid-table and who, at 27, probably won't make much more progress.

Spain showed at the Euros that it can win without a top-drawer central striker. And while there may not be much depth in central defense, the World Cup isn't a season-long competition: As long as your starters remain healthy and available for seven games, you're fine. What's more, reinforcements are on their way: Spain also happens to be European champion at the Under-21 and Under-19 levels, suggesting the pipeline isn't close to running dry.

That said, if the cycle does come to an end after three consecutive major titles, history may remember this past week as the turning point. Especially if Spain fails to win at the Stade de France on Tuesday.
