Unai Simón breaks 36-year World Cup clean sheet record in Spain's 3-0 rout of Austria

Unai Simón became the goalkeeper with the longest shutout streak in World Cup history on Thursday, blanking Austria in a 3-0 victory to push his consecutive scoreless run to 519 minutes — eclipsing the 36-year-old record of 517 minutes set by Italy’s Walter Zenga at the 1990 tournament.

The 29-year-old Athletic Bilbao keeper has now kept four straight clean sheets at this World Cup, and Spain have yet to concede a single goal in the competition. Simón was barely tested against Austria, making no saves as the Austrians failed to get any of their five attempts on target.

“I feel proud of him,” Spain coach Luis De La Fuente said. “I feel like he is a member of my family. I’m very happy for him.”

Simón is not the most decorated goalkeeper in this squad — David Raya and Joan Garcia both won league titles in two of Europe’s four major divisions — yet De La Fuente has consistently backed him as first choice. The bond between manager and keeper stretches back to 2015, when De La Fuente coached an 18-year-old Simón to the European Under-19 championship in Greece. They remained together through Spain’s youth setup before reuniting in early 2023 when De La Fuente took charge of the senior side.

Since then, Spain have lost just once in 37 competitive matches — a penalty shootout defeat to Portugal in the 2025 Nations League — while winning the 2023 Nations League and the 2024 European Championship with Simón between the posts. Thursday’s result also marked Spain’s first victory in a World Cup knockout match in 16 years.

Simón’s record-breaking streak actually began in defeat. It started during Spain’s 2-1 group-stage loss to Japan at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, continued through a goalless draw with Morocco, and survived a penalty shootout in which Morocco converted three of four spot-kicks to eliminate Spain. Zenga’s 1990 record had stood through five consecutive clean sheets on home soil before Italy were beaten in the semi-finals.

At this tournament, only Uruguay have managed more than one shot on goal against Simón across Spain’s four opponents, underlining both the keeper’s form and the defensive solidity De La Fuente’s side have built around him.

“(Simón) played a very big role in the victory, but it’s not just about individuals,” De La Fuente added.