Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon has made history in football by achieving a new Guinness World Record for the longest clean sheet in FIFA World Cup finals matches. Following Spain’s 3-0 victory over Australia, setting up a last-16 clash against Portugal, Simon has gone an impressive 519 minutes without conceding a goal on the grand stage, surpassing a record that stood for over three decades.
This remarkable feat by Simon surpasses the previous record of 518 minutes held by Italy’s legendary goalkeeper Walter Zenga, whose streak ended during the 1990 World Cup semifinal against Argentina. Simon has maintained a clean sheet in five consecutive World Cup matches, starting from the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Guinness World Records officially confirmed Simon’s achievement, stating, “The longest time played in World Cup finals matches by a goalkeeper without conceding a goal is 519 minutes by Spain’s Unai Simon.” Simon’s record spans across two World Cups, with clean sheets in matches against Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, and Austria during the 2026 edition, following a streak of 159 minutes in 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 a goal during the 120 minutes of play. Simon had already surpassed the previous Spanish record held by Iker Casillas before setting the all-time World Cup record, with a streak of 476 consecutive minutes across the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
