Unai Simón ripped the Golden Glove favorite title right out of Mike Maignan's hands, and honestly, the guy is putting on a clinic nobody in this World Cup has ever seen. Before Spain's crushing 2-0 win over France in the semifinal matchup, Maignan was the favorite to take home the award. But Simón’s performance in that game, and throughout the tournament, completely changed the dynamic.
Simón's Historic Run Has Records Falling
Simón has been an absolute brick wall this summer. He has allowed only one single goal in seven games played so far in this World Cup. Think about that for a second: one goal in seven matches. On Tuesday, he recorded his sixth clean sheet of the tournament, which is a new record for any goalkeeper at a single World Cup. Spain's six clean sheets collectively also set a new record for a team at one World Cup. It's just absurd. His shutout streak finally ended at 649 minutes in Spain's 2-1 win over Belgium in the quarterfinals, and that was the longest shutout streak in World Cup history. This dude is rewriting the record books in real-time.Martínez Has a Mountain to Climb
On the other side of the bracket, we've got Emiliano Martínez, the Golden Glove winner from 2022. He's got the pedigree, for sure. But this tournament? It’s been a different story for him and Argentina’s defense. They let in two goals against Cape Verde in the Round of 32, two more against Egypt in the Round of 16, one against Switzerland in the quarters, and another one against England in the semis. That’s six goals allowed through the knockout stages alone. While Simón is stopping everything, Martínez has been picking the ball out of his own net way too often this summer. The stage is set for an epic showdown. Argentina is now slated to face Spain in the World Cup Final. Can Martínez somehow find his 2022 form and deny Simón's historic run? Or will Simón continue his unbelievable performance and solidify his claim as the best goalkeeper of the tournament, taking home the Golden Glove after completely dominating the competition? Get ready, because it's going to be wild.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.