Unai Simon Sets New Record for Longest Clean Sheet in FIFA World Cup History
Unai Simon Achieves Historic Milestone
File image of Unai Simon(Photo: @twiceatwt/X)
Los Angeles, July 3: Unai Simon, the goalkeeper for Spain, has made football history by breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest clean sheet in FIFA World Cup finals.
Following Spain's 3-0 victory over Australia, which secured a spot in the last 16 against Portugal, Simon has remarkably gone 519 minutes without conceding a goal on football's grandest stage, surpassing a record that had remained unbroken for over 30 years.
This achievement surpasses the previous record of 518 minutes held by Italy's iconic goalkeeper Walter Zenga, whose streak ended during the 67th minute of the 1990 World Cup semifinal against Argentina.
Simon's clean sheet against Austria marked his fifth consecutive shutout in World Cup matches, dating back to the 2022 tournament held in Qatar.
Guinness World Records officially recognized this achievement on Friday, stating, "New record: Longest football (soccer) FIFA World Cup clean sheet. The longest time played in World Cup finals matches by a goalkeeper without conceding a goal is 519 minutes by Spain's Unai Simon," as shared on X.
His record spans two World Cups. In the 2026 edition, Simon maintained clean sheets against Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, and Austria, totaling 360 minutes, following 159 consecutive minutes from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Despite Spain's elimination by Morocco in a penalty shootout during the Round of 16 in Qatar 2022, Simon did not concede any goals during the full 120 minutes of play.
The last time Simon conceded a goal in a World Cup match was during Spain's group-stage defeat to Japan, where he allowed a goal from Ao Tanaka in the 51st minute on December 1, 2022.
Before achieving this remarkable World Cup record, Simon had already surpassed the previous Spanish record held by Iker Casillas, who had a streak of 476 consecutive minutes across the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.