Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón has been awarded the 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Glove for his historic World Cup.
Simón finished the tournament with seven clean sheets, breaking the record for the most clean sheets by a goalkeeper at a single World Cup. For a team that reached the World Cup final, Spain also put together one of the best defensive campaigns the tournament has ever seen.
Entering the final, Simón had conceded only one goal, which came against Belgium, while keeping six clean sheets on the way to the biggest game in world football. Spain defeated Argentina 1-0, making this the fewest goals any team has ever conceded on the way to winning the tournament. Spain finished the campaign having conceded only one goal, with Simón keeping seven clean sheets along the way.
Simón had to hold off stiff competition, including Premier League Golden Glove winner David Raya and La Liga Golden Glove winner Joan García, who were waiting behind him as Spain’s No. 2 and No. 3 goalkeepers, respectively. But Simón rewarded Luis de la Fuente for giving him the nod with a superb tournament. He was reliable with his shot-stopping, came out to deal with balls over the top and had strong command of his box throughout the entire World Cup.
Simón also built a great connection with the center-back partnership in front of him, as Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsí helped form one of the best defensive units in the tournament.
Now playing in his fourth major international tournament, Simón has built real credibility as one of the great Spanish goalkeepers. It is not only about longevity, but also success.
He helped Spain win the European Championship, keeping three clean sheets across six matches, and has now followed that with a monstrous World Cup campaign.
Iker Casillas is still widely considered the greatest Spanish national team goalkeeper of all time, but this World Cup performance from Simón might be the best individual goalkeeper campaign in Spanish national team history.
