Nobody has scored on Unai Simon in more than three years of World Cup soccer.
Spain's goalkeeper takes a 609-minute scoreless streak into Friday's quarterfinal against Belgium at SoFi Stadium. It is the longest in the tournament's history. The clock started ticking after Japan's winning goal beat him in Qatar in 2022 and has not stopped since, through a scoreless draw to Morocco that year and five straight shutouts in this one. Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Austria, Portugal. None of them scored on him.
The record he broke was 36 years old. Walter Zenga went 517 minutes without conceding for Italy at the 1990 World Cup, and nobody had come close until now.
Coincidentally, Simon just finished one of the worst seasons of his career. He gave up 54 goals for Athletic Bilbao, kept just six clean sheets and watched his club stagger to 12th in La Liga, its worst finish in eight years. The two goalkeepers on Spain's bench did better than him. David Raya won the Premier League with Arsenal and his third straight Golden Glove. Joan Garcia won La Liga with Barcelona and led the league in shutouts.
Luis de la Fuente never waivered in his decision. Spain's coach called Simon "indisputable" before the tournament started. The two go back to 2015, when Simon was an 18-year-old backup keeper on de la Fuente's European Under-19 champions, and de la Fuente has trusted him through a Nations League title and a European Championship since.
Simon has barely broken a sweat. Four saves in five games until Portugal came along. Cristiano Ronaldo forced two, the second a backward dive that ended with the ball in both hands.
Source: USA Today
