Spain Goalkeeper Unai Simon Creates FIFA World Cup History Against Austria
Spain Goalkeeper Unai Simon Creates FIFA World Cup History Against Austria Published By, Last Updated: July 03, 2026, 04:20 IST Simon, who has kept four
Spain Goalkeeper Unai Simon Creates FIFA World Cup History Against Austria Published By, Last Updated: July 03, 2026, 04:20 IST Simon, who has kept four clean sheets at this year's tournament, has now gone 519 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal. Unai Simon breaks record of playing most FIFA World Cup minutes without conceding a goal. (Picture Credit: AFP) Spain’s first-choice goalkeeper Unai Simon entered his name in the record books on Thursday (July 2) during Spain’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match against Austria in Los Angeles by registering the longest streak without conceding a goal in FIFA World Cup history. Simon, who has kept four clean sheets at this year’s tournament, has now gone 519 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal. The last goal he conceded in a FIFA World Cup came against Japan in Spain’s Group E match at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Japan’s Ao Tanaka scored the decisive goal in the 51st minute of the fixture at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan on December 1, 2022. Since then, Simon has kept five consecutive clean sheets in the FIFA World Cup. He was also Spain’s goalkeeper in their Round of 16 match against Morocco at the FIFA World Cup 2022 and did not concede a goal during the 90 minutes of regulation time or the 30 minutes of extra time. However, Spain were eliminated in the penalty shootout at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan on December 6, 2022, with Simon managing to save only one of Morocco’s four penalties. 1 – Con #España 🇪🇸, Unai Simón (519 minutos) se ha convertido en el portero con el mayor récord de imbatibilidad en la historia del #Mundial.Ha superado los 517 de Walter Zenga. Histórico. — OptaJose (@OptaJose) July 2, 2026 The previous record was held by Italy’s Walter Zenga, who went 517 consecutive minutes without conceding during the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Simon’s remarkable run has now made him the goalkeeper with the longest shutout streak in the tournament’s history. Unai Simon in FIFA World Cup 2026 AGAINST GOALS CONCEDED VENUE DATE Cape Verde 0 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta June 15, 2026 Saudi Arabia 0 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta June 21, 2026 Uruguay 0 Estadio Akron, Zapopan June 26, 2026 Austria 0 SoFi Stadium, Inglewood July 2, 2026 Spain win 3-0 Spain coasted past Austria and into the World Cup last-16 on Thursday, thoroughly outclassing their opponents in a 3-0 knockout win with a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header. The European champions controlled possession and sliced through the Austrian defense in a typically dominant performance in Los Angeles. The win — which could have been by a greater margin, with a disallowed goal and a free kick off the woodwork — sets up a tantalizing round-of-16 clash with either Portugal or Croatia.
