Spain's Unai Simon becomes the most unbeatable goalkeeper in World Cup history

The Athletic Club goalkeeper etched his name into the history books at football's biggest tournament.

With 519 minutes without conceding and after helping Spain secure qualification to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Unai Simon has overtaken Italy’s Walter Zenga to become the most impenetrable goalkeeper in World Cup history.

The Athletic Club shot-stopper surpassed Zenga’s long-standing benchmark, matching and ultimately breaking the Italian legend’s run of five consecutive clean sheets during the 1990 FIFA World Cup with Italy, a streak that had stood as the gold standard for over three decades.

Simón’s achievement places him at the summit of World Cup goalkeeping records, underscoring his consistency and reliability on the biggest stage as Spain continue their push toward the knockout rounds.

HIS RECORD

The Athletic Club goalkeeper has surpassed the 517-minute mark set by Walter Zenga with Italy, a record he established during the 1990 FIFA World Cup up to the semifinal, when Argentina finally broke the deadlock after 67 minutes.

The Spanish shot-stopper achieved the milestone across two World Cups, extending his clean-sheet streak with Unai Simón after a run of matches in which he kept his goal untouched against several opponents. Zenga’s historic stretch had included shutouts against Austria, Czechoslovakia and the United States in the group stage, followed by Uruguay in the Round of 16 and Ireland in the quarterfinals.

Simón’s run featured clean sheets against Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Austria—three in the group stage and one in the Round of 32—adding up to 360 minutes in the current tournament.

Those minutes were added to the 159 minutes he accumulated at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Despite Spain’s elimination on penalties against Morocco in the Round of 16, Simón was only beaten during regulation and extra time across that match, having previously kept a shutout streak of 39 minutes dating back to Japan’s 2–1 win over Spain, courtesy of Ao Tanaka’s decisive goal on December 1.

That goal had stood as the last time he was beaten before this remarkable run—one that now places him among the most reliable goalkeepers in recent World Cup history.

PAST CASILLAS

Before setting the all-time World Cup record, Simon had already eclipsed the previous Spanish benchmark held by Iker Casillas, whose streak of 476 consecutive minutes stretched across the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.