FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
In the 2026 World Cup, we have seen 3 Spain, the one against Cape Verde, the one against Saudi Arabia and the one against Uruguay, but all three of these matches had a common denominator; no goals conceded even though the rivals were not among the most demanding.
Without going any further, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia scored 2 and 1 goals against Uruguay, respectively, while they could not surprise Spain.
Goalkeeper Unai Simon has now gone 419 minutes without conceding a goal in a major competition. To see his last goal conceded, we have to go back to Qatar 2022, in the third group stage match against Japan, a 2-1 loss, where Ritsu Doan and Tanaka overturned La Roja's advantage with Morata's goal; they were in the 48th and 51st minutes. To these minutes, not counting the extra time, we add the 120 minutes of the match against Morocco, Spain lost on penalties, but did not concede a goal during the match played, and then we come to the USA, 270 minutes without conceding a goal in the matches against Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.
Overall, Unai Simon has defended Spain's goal in 61 matches with 48 goals conceded and 26 clean sheets. And these figures bring him closer to 2 records; the Spanish one is held by Iker Casillas with 476 minutes without conceding a goal in a World Cup. If Unai keeps a clean sheet against Austria, he will surpass this record of his compatriot and set another one on target; that of Walter Zenga.
The legendary Italian goalkeeper kept a clean sheet for Italy in the first 517 minutes of the 1990 World Cup, until the semi-final against Argentina when Caniggia equalised Schillaci's goal in the 67th minute as the Albiceleste team managed to book their place in the final after a penalty shootout. If Spain qualify for the round of 16 without conceding a goal, Simon will set a world record.
Lini një Përgjigje