Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon less than 90 minutes from breaking World Cup record

The Spanish national team goalkeeper, according to BeSoccer Pro data, is currently on a run of 429 minutes without conceding a goal. If he keeps a clean sheet in the Round of 32, he will jump from eighth to first place in this ranking ahead of legendary goalkeepers like Walter Zenga of Italy and Peter Shilton of England, and he will even knock a certain Iker Casillas off the podium.

He would also leave behind the German Sepp Maier, the Italian Gianluigi Buffon, the Brazilian Emerson Leao and the Englishman Gordon Banks. This achievement would add to the fact that he has kept a clean sheet in five of his first seven official World Cup matches, just as Zenga once did.

All this is without counting extra time, only the regular 90 minutes.

Spain making history as a team

Despite the initial debate over who should be Spain’s starting goalkeeper after the outstanding seasons of Joan Garcia and David Raya, coach Luis de la Fuente remained convinced that Simon was the best choice.

The Athletic Club keeper raised a few questions on aerial balls against Uruguay, but he stayed solid in all other dangerous situations created by the Uruguayans. He even showed his composure with the ball at his feet by dribbling inside his own box, suggesting he is a goalkeeper full of confidence.

And for now, the Unai gamble is paying off. Alongside him, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte and Marc Cucurella have played every possible minute.

With help from Marcos Llorente in two matches and Pedro Porro in others, as well as the rest of the team, this Spain side has already done better than the one crowned in 2010: they made it through the group stage without conceding a single goal, a first in their history.