INGLEWOOD, Calif. – For months of World Cup play across two tournaments, Unai Simón turned Spain’s goalmouth into an impenetrable fortress that no opposing attacker could breach. That extraordinary reign finally ended in Friday’s quarterfinal clash, when Belgium ended the Spanish goalkeeper’s record-breaking 650-minute scoreless streak, a run unmatched in the history of men’s World Cup competition.
The breakthrough came in the 41st minute of the tightly contested match, as Charles De Ketelaere positioned himself perfectly between Spanish defender Pau Cubarsi and the goal to nod a pinpoint cross from Timothy Castagne into the back of the net, leveling the score at 1-1. With this goal, Belgium made history as the first squad to find the back of the net against La Roja at the 2024 World Cup, snapping Spain’s run of six consecutive clean sheets at the tournament.
Simón’s record-breaking streak traces its roots back to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when he entered Spain’s group stage match against Japan in the second half with the team trailing 2-1. The run carried through to the final round of the 2022 tournament, where Spain played a full 90 minutes of regular time to a 0-0 draw with Morocco before the North African side advanced on penalties.
When World Cup play resumed this year, the shutout streak continued with an unexpected 0-0 stalemate against Cape Verde in Spain’s opening group stage match. From there, Simón and Spain’s defense reeled off four consecutive full-match shutouts to propel La Roja through the knockout rounds and into the quarterfinals. It was during Spain’s 3-0 victory over Austria in the opening knockout round that Simón officially claimed the record, surpassing the previous mark of 517 consecutive scoreless minutes set by Italy’s legendary goalkeeper Walter Zenga on home soil at the 1990 World Cup. Heading into the halftime break against Belgium on Friday, the 29-year-old Spanish shot-stopper had only faced two total shots on the day, a testament to both his quality and the strength of Spain’s defensive unit ahead of him.