“The goalkeeper’s decision was made before,” he replied. Luis de la Fuente in Puebla to a question that has become common in his press conferences: that of the national team’s goalkeeper. That before is not close. It is a decision made in June 2023 and it is the one that says that Unai Simón is the top goalkeeper of the team
In the first call ofand Luis de la Fuente, Unai was injured. The headline was Kepa and the other two goals called, Robert Sánchez and David Raya. In June, for the Final Four in Rotterdam, Unai returned. He was one of the new faces after the Glasgow earthquake. In Las Rozas, sitting on the floor, outside the locker room, the Athletic coach and goalkeeper had a long talk one morning.
De la Fuente: “We have the six best in the world in the middle”
Many people assumed there was no doubt. That Kepa was the goalkeeper of From the Sourcebecause Unai had been seated in the European under 21 to place Sivera and be European champion. It was not as it is andThis is how it was told in MARCA. It was decision number one and, when the eleven came out for the semifinal against Italy, the chosen one was Unai Simón.
Nothing has changed since then. Or yes. What has changed is the weight of Unai Simon within the selection. The 23rd of Spain He is the second captain, an authority in the locker room and one of the main pillars of the team. Its performance speaks for itself. With the national team he has two titles in which he has been key: the penalties in the final against Croatia of the Nations League and a great European Championship. De la Fuente’s messages have always been forceful. But still…
The explosion of Joan Garcia and his arrival at Barcelona It fueled a debate that the coach postponed until March. Then he called four goalkeepers: the three regulars since November 2023 (Unai, Raya and Remiro) and Joan. The door was opened to doubt… external. Because within the national team it was always clear that the present is Unai. That there is no single reason to handle another scenario. De la Fuente always boasts about the level of his goalkeepers, asks that David Raya be evaluated and does not budge an inch from his decision with Unai.
Unai Simón surrenders to Joan García: “He is the goalkeeper who is closest to Courtois”
The Alava goalkeeper faces his second World Cup. He is the third Athletic goalkeeper to start with Spain in a World Cup after Carmelo Cedrún (1962), Iribar (1966) and Zubizarreta (1986). And he joins Zubi (1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998) and Casillas (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) as one of the national team’s goalkeepers who have repeated as chosen in more than one World Cup.
Unaware of external debates, Unai leads the team from within. He is part of that group of players in which the coach has an extension of his command built over a long journey. Just as it happens with Rodri, Mikel Merino or Fabián Ruiz. Against Cape Verde, his tally of matches with Spain will reach 60 since Luis Enrique gave him his debut in November 2020, in the Amsterdam Arena. Since then there has been no debate in the national team’s goal.
