Unai Simon Shatter 36-Year World Cup Record During Spain's FIFA WC QF Win Over Belgium

Published 11 July 2026 · sports

Unai Simon Shatter 36-Year World Cup Record During Spain's FIFA WC QF Win Over Belgium Published By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026, 15:55 IST Spain

Unai Simon Shatter 36-Year World Cup Record During Spain's FIFA WC QF Win Over Belgium Published By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026, 15:55 IST Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón set a new FIFA World Cup record with a 650-minute shutout streak, surpassing Walter Zenga's 36-year mark before Belgium finally found a way through. Rapid Read Spain's GK Unai Simon with his teammates (AP) Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon has etched his name into FIFA World Cup history after setting a new record for the longest run without conceding a goal in World Cup finals matches. The Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper went 650 minutes without picking the ball out of his net, surpassing the previous record of 517 minutes set by Italy legend Walter Zenga during the 1990 World Cup. Guinness World Records confirmed the achievement on Friday. Longest football (soccer) FIFA World Cup clean sheet ⚽🙌With Spain finally conceding a goal, the longest time played in World Cup finals matches by a goalkeeper without conceding a goal is 649 minutes by Spain’s Unai Simón 🇪🇸 Prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup the record of 518… Guinness World Records (@GWR) July 10, 2026 Simon’s remarkable streak finally came to an end in Spain’s World Cup quarterfinal against Belgium at Los Angeles Stadium, where Charles De Ketelaere headed home Timothy Castagne’s cross in the 41st minute to level the match at 1-1.

Spain, however, recovered to secure a 2-1 victory and book their place in the semifinals against France. Record-breaking Defensive Run Simón’s streak began during the 2022 tournament in Qatar after Japan scored in Spain’s final group-stage match. Since then, La Roja had not conceded a World Cup goal through the remainder of that tournament and into the current edition. Spain’s run included a goalless draw with Morocco in the 2022 Round of 16 before losing on penalties, a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde to open this year’s group stage, and four straight clean-sheet victories on their way to the quarterfinals. Along the way, Spain also became the first team in World Cup history to record six consecutive clean sheets, breaking the previous record jointly held by Italy (1990) and Switzerland (2006-10). Surpassing Walter Zenga Simon officially eclipsed Walter Zenga’s long-standing mark during Spain’s 3-0 Round of 16 victory over Austria.

Zenga’s record of 517 consecutive scoreless minutes had stood untouched for 36 years and was widely regarded as one of the tournament’s toughest goalkeeping milestones to beat. The 29-year-old Spaniard had faced relatively few tests throughout the tournament, making only four saves before Spain’s meeting with Portugal. Two of his finest interventions came against Cristiano Ronaldo, including an outstanding diving stop in the first half. Although Belgium finally ended his historic shutout streak, Simón’s place in the record books is secure. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Siddarth Sriram After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His... Read More First Published: July 11, 2026, 15:55 IST News sports football Unai Simon Shatter 36-Year World Cup Record During Spain's FIFA WC QF Win Over Belgium Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s.