For a minute, forget midfields and think about this Spain defense. Since time immemorial, the Spanish national team has been exclusively discussed for its midfield. From the golden era of Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, the intricate Tiki-Taka systems, and now players like Pedri and Ballon D’or winning Rodri, La Roja has long been synonymous with having one of the best midfields in international soccer.
However, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America reaches the crucial stages, something about this Spain team is different. The real heroes of Spain’s campaign so far aren’t just the playmakers and ball-winners, but rather the Spain defense.
And in that, two names immediately come to mind: Pau Cubarsí and Unai Simón.
Unai Simón
Heading into the 2026 World Cup, the goalkeeping position was a subject of fierce debate across Spanish media and among fans. Luis de la Fuente was adamant that his starting goalkeeper would be Athletic Club’s Unai Simón. The other two keepers in contention, David Raya and Joan García, would travel as understudies and only play in the event of injuries.
David Raya had just won the Premier League Golden Glove, while Joan García won La Liga and the Zamora Trophy (Spain’s equivalent of the Golden Glove). Yet both would spend the World Cup on the bench for Unai Simón, whose Athletic Club finished 12th in La Liga and conceded 58 goals.
So what happened as Spain played their four games so far? Well, Unai Simón broke a world record.
Reaching 519 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal at the World Cup, the Basque goalkeeper officially broke Italian legend Walter Zenga’s long-standing record of 517 minutes set during Italia ’90.
You have to go all the way back to December 1, 2022, to find the last time Simón conceded a World Cup goal. That came courtesy of Japan’s Ao Tanaka. Since then, he has not picked the ball out of the net during the final 39 minutes against Japan, the full 120 minutes against Morocco in Qatar, and all 360 flawless minutes of Spain’s 2026 campaign so far.
Jack Of All Trades In The Spain Defense
Apart from keeping four clean sheets and breaking that world record, Simón has also excelled with his distribution. He has been excellent at coming off his line and acting as a sweeper-keeper, not traditionally his strongest attribute, but something he has executed brilliantly throughout the tournament. Simón has completed 106 passes as Spain continue to build attacks from the back. According to FotMob, he has delivered those passes with a remarkable 93.06 percent accuracy. He has also attempted long balls with an accuracy of around 66 percent, helping Spain progress the ball higher up the field.
He has eradicated the costly errors, refined his decision-making, and perfectly demonstrated why Luis de la Fuente trusts him over Spain’s other goalkeepers. In what will surely be his final World Cup cycle with the national team, Unai Simón, after breaking the world record, calmly told the press:
“They’re just numbers, to be honest. I haven’t done all that much either.”
Pau Cubarsí
Making Unai Simón’s job much easier is a teenager playing in front of him at his first major international tournament.
Barcelona’s 19-year-old prodigy Pau Cubarsí has quietly flown under the radar of many people watching Spain. Cubarsí is the only player under the age of 20 to have played every single minute of this World Cup. During the group stage, Spain achieved something they had never managed in their World Cup history: navigating all three opening games without conceding a goal.
Across those first three matches, Cubarsí recorded a staggering 98 percent pass accuracy, completing 289 of his 294 attempted passes. On top of that, his ball-playing ability has been on full display, completing nine long passes from deep while creating five chances from defense alone. He has been dispossessed a grand total of zero times across four games and has only been dribbled past twice.
Cubarsí continues to add statistics to his game that delight La Roja supporters. He has made 18 recoveries and 14 clearances on the way to helping Spain keep a fourth consecutive clean sheet.
Difference in Spain Defense vs Barca Defense
Although he is already close to world-class at club level, there are still moments under Hansi Flick’s high-risk defensive system where Cubarsí can struggle. Barcelona’s aggressive high line often leaves him exposed. When opponents get in behind, he is forced to react quickly, which can occasionally lead to mistakes, like the red card he received against Atlético Madrid.
With the national team, however, de la Fuente’s more slower defensive structure allows him to play his natural game without constantly worrying about the risks of defending 40 yards from goal. That difference has been evident whenever he swaps the Barcelona jersey for the Spain shirt.
Pau Cubarsí is still only 20 years old, and Hansi Flick won’t be Barcelona manager forever. If Cubarsí continues developing at this rate and eventually plays under a coach whose defensive structure better suits his strengths, he could become one of the world’s elite center-backs.
A Spain Defense That Wins Tournaments
Pau Cubarsí and Unai Simón, aided brilliantly by the supporting cast of Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, and Pedro Porro, have made it a nightmare for opponents to break down the Spain defense.
As Spain prepares for the Round of 16, Luis de la Fuente’s biggest concern isn’t leaking goals but rather the injury situation out wide. Everyone in the Spanish camp can sleep easy knowing the back line is likely to dominate not just this tournament, but for many years to come.
