Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon etched his name into World Cup history on Thursday after setting a new record for the longest shutout streak, surpassing a mark that had stood for 36 years.
The 29-year-old Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper achieved the feat during Spain’s 3-0 victory over Austria, recording his fourth consecutive clean sheet at the tournament.
Simon has now gone 519 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal across the past two FIFA World Cups, breaking the previous record of 517 minutes set by Italy legend Walter Zenga during the 1990 World Cup on home soil.
While Simon is not among the tournament’s most high-profile goalkeepers, his consistency behind Spain’s formidable defence has propelled him into the World Cup record books.
Spain remain the only team yet to concede a goal at this year’s tournament, with Simon making just four saves throughout the campaign so far. Against Austria, he was largely untroubled as the Spaniards restricted their opponents to five shots, none of which tested the goalkeeper.
