Every nation has moments of glory and times of defeat in their history. There's no saying who is better than one other.
Spain for example was the undoubted military leader in the 16th and early 17th century, but was nothing more than a secondary powder in the 18th century. France was the leading power in the later half of the 17th century and early 18th century, declined after the Seven years War, came back during the Napoleonic Wars and after that declined again with 1871 being a low-point.