Unai Simon set a World Cup record Thursday night and barely anyone noticed. That’s because he didn’t really have to earn it.
Simon went 520 minutes without conceding a goal, breaking the mark held by Italy’s Walter Zenga since 1990. But here’s the thing: Spain’s goalkeeper has faced only six shots on target across four matches. None of them were particularly dangerous. The guy is basically getting paid to watch the game from the best seat in the house.
Spain’s 2-0 win over Austria in the Round of 16 was their first knockout victory at a World Cup since the 2010 final. That’s a 16-year drought no one talked about because the narrative around this team has been all about whether the attack could find its rhythm again. Fair enough. Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal were electric at Euro 2024, and the comparison has been unavoidable.
But while everyone was asking why Pedri looked a step slow or why Rodri’s passing seemed sluggish, Spain quietly built the best defense in the tournament. They’ve joined Italy and Switzerland as the only teams to go five straight World Cup games without conceding. And the numbers behind it are absurd.
According to Opta, opponents are touching the ball inside Spain’s box less than anywhere else on the pitch — they have more than 55% of their touches only in their own box. Spain leads the tournament in high turnovers with 43, and no team starts their press higher up the field. The expected goals against number? 0.4. That’s not a typo. Germany, by comparison, allowed 3.25 xG in their four games.
The backline nobody’s talking about
Pau Cubarsi and Aymeric Laporte have turned collecting loose balls in front of exhausted strikers into a routine. Marc Cucurella has been more noticeable bombing forward than defending, which tells you how little work he’s had to do on his own end. Laporte is tied for fourth in interceptions and fifth in aerial duels won. Rodri ranks ninth in tackles with 13 — a weird stat for a defensive midfielder until you realize Spain just doesn’t need him to tackle that much.
For context, Zenga set his record behind a defense that included Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta. That Italy team played a much more conservative style. Spain is pressing like mad and still giving up almost nothing.
“It’s very hard to play against Spain, they didn’t make a single mistake,” Austria manager Ralf Rangnick said after the match. “They’re very good, like clockwork. It’s impossible to compete against them tactically.”
Rangnick knows pressing systems. If he’s impressed, that carries weight.
The Portugal test comes next
The reasonable counterargument is that Spain hasn’t faced a truly elite attack yet. That changes now with Portugal up next. If Cubarsi and company handle that test the same way they handled Austria, it’s time to stop talking about the attack struggling and start talking about this being the best defense in the competition.
Spain’s identity with the ball looked closer to normal against Austria. The passing had more zip, the movement was sharper. But the real story is that the defense gave them the time to figure it out. For a team built on technical wizardry, the most reliable piece so far has been the part everyone worried about the most.
Leave a Comment