​Nobody has scored a World Cup goal against Unai Simon in more than three years of global tournament play. Spain’s goalkeeper carries a 609-minute scoreless streak into Friday’s quarterfinal showdown with Belgium at SoFi Stadium, the longest such run in World Cup history. The clock began ticking after Japan popped a winner past him in the 2022 Qatar World Cup and it has barely paused since, surviving a scoreless draw with Morocco that year and continuing with five straight shutouts in the current tournament. Across the journey, opponents have included Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Austria, and Portugal—none of them could slip one past him.
The mark he surpassed had stood for 36 years. Walter Zenga went 517 minutes without conceding for Italy at the 1990 World Cup, and until now no one had approached that kind of length at a World Cup. Coincidentally, Simon has just finished what could be described as one of the worst seasons of his professional career. He surrendered 54 goals for Athletic Bilbao, managed only six clean sheets, and watched his club finish 12th in La Liga, its lowest position in eight years. The two Spain goalkeepers who sit behind him on the depth chart fared far better. David Raya captured a Premier League title with Arsenal and earned his third consecutive Golden Glove, while Joan Garcia won La Liga with Barcelona and led the league in shutouts.
Spain’s head coach Luis de la Fuente has stood firm in his choice. He described Simon as “indisputable” before the tournament began, a belief rooted in a long-standing relationship between the two men. They go back to 2015, when Simon was an 18-year-old backup who joined de la Fuente’s European Under-19 champions’ squad, and the coach has leaned on him through a Nations League triumph and an European Championship since. Throughout this stretch, Simon has shown little outward distress, often simply going through the motions in a steady, unflustered manner. He recorded four saves in five games until the Portugal match, when Cristiano Ronaldo forced two attempts, the second a diving, backward-leaning save that left the ball securely in Simon’s gloves.
This story first appeared on USA TODAY as part of an exploration into Spain’s goalkeeper—an athlete who has yet to concede a World Cup goal in the modern era. The tale of Simon’s resilience and the faith his manager has placed in him has become a notable subplot in a tournament defined by dramatic finishes and high-stakes fixtures. As Spain advances toward the quarterfinals, the question remains: can Simon extend this remarkable streak, or will a fresh opponent finally find a way through?