CORNERFLICK
Unai Simón has set a new World Cup record for the longest run without conceding after Spain beat Portugal 1-0 in the last 16.
The Spain goalkeeper’s clean sheet took his tournament total to 609 minutes, putting him above the previous mark held by former Italy keeper Walter Zenga, who went 517 minutes unbeaten at the 1990 World Cup.
Simón’s run began at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when Spain’s goalless sequence against Morocco started. Since then, he has kept out opponents in six straight matches at the competition.
The Basque keeper has also recorded clean sheets against Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Austria on the way to the new benchmark. His latest shut-out against Portugal sent Spain into the next round and added another chapter to his growing World Cup record.