Rarely has a team so perfectly embodied the phrase “an embarrassment of riches” when it comes to goalkeepers. Unai Simon, David Raya and Joan Garcia form a trio that many other nations would envy Spain for, each with the stats or sporting credentials to be a starter elsewhere.
Raya was one of Europe’s best keepers last season with Arsenal, claiming his third consecutive Premier League Golden Glove after a stellar campaign that ended with a league title and a Champions League final lost on penalties to PSG. Garcia, meanwhile, established himself in his first season at Barça as the least-beaten keeper in La Liga.
And yet, it is Simon who has started every match for Spain since the tournament began. A hierarchy openly assumed and fiercely defended by Luis de la Fuente, who made his decision the day before the opening match against Cape Verde and did not mince his words in justifying his decision:
“The choice has already been made,” he declared.
“It would be unfair not to recognise Unai’s quality, class, career and experience. He is indispensable.”
Healthy competition, almost presented as a strength
What stands out about this trio is the apparent lack of tension despite what’s at stake. The three keepers train together, in a separate group, and all speak with one voice about the camaraderie between them.
Garcia, who has every reason to want to play, described the relationship to AFP as one of mutual support rather than rivalry.
“We try to help Unai with things we notice from the outside. He knows exactly what he needs to do. He doesn’t need much help, but if we spot something particular in a striker’s positioning, we try to help him.”
Raya echoed this, almost going against the frustration you might expect from a keeper of his quality left on the bench.
“Competition makes us better every day. We take it in our stride. It’s a privilege to work with such great goalkeepers.
“The goal is in good hands. We have different styles, we see things differently, and being a small group training separately allows us to be at 100%. We help and push each other.”
Simon himself was keen to put an end to the speculation that arose with Garcia’s arrival, addressing the supposed tensions between the three: “A lot has been said, some of it true, some not entirely.
"The truth is Joan García came here to bring something to the group, to put pressure on me and on David Raya, to show the coach he wants to play. And off the pitch, to be a model teammate, just as Remiro was in the past.”
A season at Athletic that called everything into question
It’s important to remember where Simon is coming from to appreciate the scale of his response on the pitch. His 2025-2026 season with Athletic Club was statistically his worst in a long time: 73 goals conceded in 46 appearances, just eight clean sheets for a rate of 17.4 per cent, and a goals prevented ratio of -6.86, by far the worst of the three Spanish keepers at the World Cup.
By comparison, Raya conceded only 31 goals with Arsenal, kept 19 clean sheets and had a ratio of 4.39, while Garcia had 42 goals conceded, 15 clean sheets and a ratio of 9.7 with Barça.
Even in ball distribution, long considered one of his strengths, Simon completed only 58% of his passes last season, well below Raya’s 65% and Garcia’s 90%.
These figures, which must be put into context given the very different situations at the three clubs, were enough to spark a real debate in Spain ahead of the World Cup.
So much so that De la Fuente himself tested the established hierarchy in the friendly against Egypt at the end of March. It was David Raya who started in goal for Spain, before being replaced by Garcia in the 62nd minute.
A clear message to Simon, who was going through a tough spell at his club and had openly admitted to questioning his own legitimacy as number one.
A tournament confirming his reliability for the national team
But as soon as he pulls on the Roja shirt, Simon becomes a different keeper altogether, and this 2026 World Cup is the best proof of that. Against Austria in the round of 32, he surpassed the 517-minute unbeaten run held by Italian Walter Zenga since 1990, before extending the record to 609 minutes after the 1-0 win over Portugal in the last 16.
This run actually began at the 2022 World Cup, as the last goal Simon conceded in the finals came in the 51st minute of Spain’s third group match in Qatar, scored by Japan’s Ao Tanaka.
Before Zenga, he had already broken the Spanish record held by Iker Casillas with his 476-minute unbeaten streak between 2010 and 2014.
Asked about the record by AS newspaper, the keeper was keen to put his run in a broader context, even including the disappointment of the 2022 penalty shootout.
“For me, the minutes without conceding from the previous World Cup count as well. I think we showed then that we were an attacking team, but we went home after penalties - these things happen in football.
"This year, we’re trying to keep adding minutes and clean sheets so that the next person who wants to break the record will have a harder time.”
Just looking at this 2026 World Cup, the numbers speak for themselves: zero goals conceded in five matches, from the group stage against Cape Verde (0-0), Saudi Arabia (4-0) and Uruguay (1-0), then the round of 32 and round of 16 against Austria (3-0) and Portugal (1-0).
Counting all his World Cup appearances, including Qatar 2022, Simon has conceded just three goals and kept seven clean sheets in nine matches, before facing Belgium and Thibaut Courtois on Friday.
This is not an isolated case. For the national team, Simon has kept 30 clean sheets in 63 appearances for La Roja. He was crowned Nations League champion in 2023 and then Euro champion in 2024, a year in which he finished as the world’s second-best goalkeeper.
At club level, he also won the La Liga Zamora Trophy in 2023-2024, awarded to the league’s best keeper with the fewest goals conceded - 33 in 36 matches.
All these honours stand in stark contrast to the difficult season he has just endured in Bilbao, highlighting a contrast that has almost become his trademark: a keeper sometimes vulnerable at club level, but transformed whenever he pulls on the red shirt.
Spain even have another trump card in the event of a tight match: in the six penalty shootouts contested by the national team, Simon has won three - in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020, the final of the 2023 Nations League and the quarter-finals of the 2025 Nations League.
He has, however, lost three others, the most recent against Portugal in the final of the last Nations League.
A dressing room full of former goalkeepers
This collective success in the goalkeeper position also owes much to the technical staff put in place by De la Fuente. Unusually, four members of the coach’s staff were themselves goalkeepers during their playing careers.
Juanjo González, the assistant coach specialising in strategy, who notably worked as a goalkeeping coach alongside Luis Enrique at the 2022 World Cup; Miguel Angel España, goalkeeping coach for group A since De la Fuente’s arrival in 2023 and a historic figure in goalkeeper training at the Spanish federation; Javier López Vallejo, now the team’s sports psychologist, a former Spain U21 international who played for Osasuna and Villarreal; and Pablo Peña, a video analyst trained at La Masia, present at four World Cups including the 2010 edition.
This continuity is no small detail in Spain’s obsession with playing out from the back and defensive anticipation - two areas in which Simon works constantly with these former keepers now on the staff.
Marc Cucurella summed up this philosophy after the win over Portugal: “I believe the best teams, the champion teams, are those who defend best, and that’s what we try to do. It’s a collective effort - pressing, positioning, communication - and keeping a clean sheet always brings you closer to victory.”
World Cup 2026
The 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament will feature 48 national teams and will be played in 16 modern stadiums.
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At 29, Simon heads into this quarter-final against Belgium with a historic record and renewed confidence, after months when his starting place seemed anything but certain.
But the debate over Spain’s number one could resurface sooner than expected. Asked about his possible presence at the 2030 World Cup, co-hosted by Spain, Simon himself was cautious about his future in the role, hinting that he doesn’t necessarily see himself guarding Spain’s goal at home in four years’ time and would rather 'close the cycle' than force his place.
This could reignite competition with Raya and especially Garcia, seen as the natural successor. For now, though, it is Simon who is making history - and who will look to extend his run on Friday against the Red Devils.