Spain booked their place in the Round of 16 of the
2026 FIFA World Cup after a convincing 3-0 victory over Austria, with Mikel
Oyarzabal scoring twice and Pedro Porro adding a third to seal another dominant
performance for La Roja.
While Spain's attacking brilliance stole the
spotlight, goalkeeper Unai Simón etched his name into football history by
breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest clean-sheet streak by a
goalkeeper in FIFA World Cup history.
The Spanish international has now gone 519 consecutive
minutes without conceding a goal in World Cup matches, surpassing the previous
record of 518 minutes set by Italy's Walter Zenga at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Simón's remarkable run spans two editions of the
tournament. After carrying a 159-minute clean-sheet streak from the 2022 FIFA
World Cup in Qatar—where Spain were eliminated by Morocco on penalties
following a goalless 120 minutes—he has added another 360 minutes at the 2026
tournament with shutouts against Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Austria.
The achievement ends a record that had stood unbroken
for 36 years, eclipsing the marks of legendary goalkeepers such as Iker
Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon, Sepp Maier and Peter Shilton.
Spain remain one of the standout teams at the
tournament, having yet to concede a single goal. Luis de la Fuente's men will
now face Portugal in the Round of 16, where Simón will look to extend his
historic streak against an attack led by Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes.
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