New Delhi: Spain thumped Austria 3-0 in the Round of 32 at the Los Angeles Stadium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup early Friday. Goalkeeper Unai Simon became the first player to play in the tournament without conceding a goal for 519 minutes, etching his name into the Guinness World Records.
The clean sheet at the Los Angeles Stadium saw Simon surpass the previous mark of 517 minutes set by Italy’s legendary goalkeeper Walter Zenga during the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
The Spanish goalkeeper has not been beaten since the group stage. Against Austria, Spain once again proved why they have one of the best back-five in the entire tournament.
Dissecting gameplay of Spain
Spain’s first goal came in the 37th minute after a low cross from the left side was slotted in the net by Mikel Ozarbayal from the middle of the box. He again went on to score another goal in the 89th minute. It mirrored the first goal—a cutting low cross, which was met by Ozarbayal before calmly slotting it into the net.
With this, Ozarbayal has taken his tally to four goals in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The second goal for the one-time world champion came from a rifle header from defender Pedro Porro.
Meanwhile, Spain suffocated Austria during the victory. By executing an aggressive press and maintaining disciplined structure, they restricted Austria to a meagre 0.32 Expected Goals on just five total shots. Austria failed to even hit the target once in the entire 90 minutes.
In the defence, Spain maintained a wide line. The side backs drove the offence with Cucurella and Porro dominating the left flank, shutting down any progressive runs. Meanwhile, teenage centre-back Pau Cubarsi stood as an anchor in the backline, alongside his veteran partners. Austria’s midfield struggled to find any passing lanes through the middle, leaving their lone strikers entirely isolated.
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Other World Cup records
For Spain, this victory marked the very first time Spain has scored more than one goal in a World Cup knockout match since their 3–0 win over Switzerland in the US in 1994. Notably, even during their historic 2010 World Cup-winning run, every knockout match was won by a narrow 1–0 margin.
Spain also became the only team to feature two teenagers—Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi. The duo broke a 68-year-old World Cup record, which was previously held by Pelé and José Altafini.
Spain will face either Portugal or Croatia in the Round of 16.