ENGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Unai Simon’s insurmountable wall It finally collapsed world cup.
The Spanish goalkeeper had kept a record 650 minutes without conceding a goal – the longest such run in the competition – before Belgium stopped the match in Friday’s quarter-final.
In the 41st minute, Timothy Castagne’s cross was passed in front of Pau Kubalsi and Charles de Ketelaer headed home, making the score 1-1.
Belgium became the first team to score against La Roja at this year’s World Cup, breaking a tournament record with six consecutive clean sheets.
Spain’s winning streak began with a 0-0 draw in the round of 16 in the last tournament in 2022, with Morocco winning on penalties. This year, they opened the group stage with a surprising scoreless draw against Cape Verde, and then advanced to the quarterfinals with four consecutive shutout wins.
Simon won the opening game of the finals 3-0 against Austria, breaking his previous record of 517 consecutive minutes without scoring. Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga set a record in 1990 with five consecutive clean sheets at his home World Cup.
Simon’s shutout streak began in 2022 when he lost 2-1 to Japan in group play in Qatar.
The 29-year-old goaltender had just two shots in the first half on Friday.
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