Throughout the entire tournament, Unai Simón was rarely pushed to his absolute limits. While he racked up an impressive 7 clean sheets, the credit belonged as much to Spain’s formidable backline as it did to his own shot-stopping abilities. Before opposition attacks could even reach Simón, Spanish defenders routinely extinguished the threat. In fact, Simón recorded just 10 saves across the entire World Cup—a startling statistic when compared to Argentina’s Emiliano Martínez, who produced 11 saves in the final alone!
However, modern goalkeeping extends far beyond acrobatic saves; it relies heavily on positional awareness and reliable distribution from the back. Driven by his 7 clean sheets, the Athletic Bilbao custodian earned the prestigious Golden Glove award as the tournament’s top goalkeeper. Accepting the trophy, Simón remarked with a grin:
“I think these gloves were only really used in the final! If the gloves I wore throughout this World Cup could talk, they’d probably say they didn’t have to work very hard at all.”
Spain now holds the incredible record for conceding the fewest goals by a champion in World Cup history—a benchmark Simón believes will be nearly impossible for any future team to surpass. Protecting him at the back was teenage sensation Pau Cubarsí, who was crowned the tournament’s Best Young Player.
Refusing to take solo credit for the historic achievement, Simón attributed the success to the collective unit:
“I don’t view this as an individual accomplishment at all. My teammates are the real architects behind this remarkable record of conceding just one goal throughout the entire tournament. I am immensely proud of and grateful to every single one of them.”
Reflecting on the surreal feeling of becoming a World Champion, Simón added:
“I think we will only truly grasp the magnitude of what we’ve accomplished once we return to Spain. In the sporting world, nothing compares to winning the World Cup. You simply cannot weigh it against a Euro title or a Nations League trophy. Winning the World Cup is a feeling in a league of its own.”
