Spain has issued a warning about a key star despite a record-breaking World Cup appearances
Spain don’t look strong between the sticks – Unai Simon would scare me if I’m a Spanish fan.
This is the decision of European football expert Kevin Hatchard, although the goalkeeper has only participated in the World Cup once so far.
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The Athletic Bilbao No.1 secured La Roja’s first place in the 2026 competition ahead of two title-winning strikers.
Spain count Barcelona’s La Liga champion Joan Garcia and Arsenal’s Premier League winner David Raya as their high-profile supporters.
Simon has started all six of his country’s World Cup matches and did not concede a single goal until the quarter-final, beating Belgium 2-1.
However, before Charles De Ketelaere headed home Timothy Castagne, Simon had already broken Walter Zenga’s World Cup record of 517 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.
The 29-year-old’s senior run – which began during the last 16 clash with Morocco in Qatar four years ago – spanned 650 minutes in total.
But Hatchard has identified Simon as a weak spot in Spain’s squad ahead of their semi-final against France on Tuesday, live on talkSPORT.
The winner of the match between the World Cup favorites and the Euro 2024 winners is already tipped to go on and lift the trophy, with England and Argentina having conceded ten goals each in their six top-flight matches.
Asked about the idea, Hatchard told talkSPORT’s The Final Word: “I think it’s very boring, but you know. [Didier] Deschamps, he will take it one game at a time. And that’s why he’ll be riding them, because this is an interesting thing, you’re right.
“If you look at France and Spain, maybe you can say that they have been the smoothest teams in this competition so far.
“So you will hear that whoever wins that semi-final will be favourites. But I don’t think too much. I think they will be favourites, but the quality of the remaining four teams is very high, I think. And there are star players in every team.
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“I think with France and Spain – Spain will look at it and think, we beat this French team in the semi-finals of the Euros on the way to winning it. So they will have that confidence.
“They felt like a team to me that played a little inside themselves, but they controlled a lot of games.
“Portugal, I think they pushed it late, to be honest, because it was a time game.
“I mean, if Bruno Fernandes’ shot doesn’t hit the side netting and it goes into the net, suddenly you’re in big trouble.”
Unai Simon would scare the life out of me
Spain were the only semi-finalists without a golden boot player, with leading scorer Mikel Oyarzabal netting four goals.
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Lamine Yamal is yet to open his World Cup account, while Arsenal’s Mikel Merino scored two late goals to beat Portugal and Belgium respectively.
But at the other end of the pitch, Hatchard believes Simon represents a threat to Spain ahead of facing Kylian Mbappe and Co.
“So I think the offensive part of the game is still a few gears away, but they look solid,” he continued.
“I’ll tell you where I don’t think they look strong: Spain. And I’ve thought about this for a long time.
“Unai Simon, he would scare me if I was a Spain fan.
“I thought he had a few moments against Belgium. One where he lost the ball again [Kevin] De Bruyne couldn’t navigate the range.
“And the other one when he came out flying, he wasn’t near the ball. And they couldn’t delay.
“They tried to force the ball across the face of the goal. Now, I know Arsenal fans will look at it and think, why isn’t David Raya in the team?
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“Barcelona fans will also look at it. They will say, where is Joan Garcia? Because he has been working very well this season.
“But what he is doing emphasizes the way Luis de la Fuente, the coach, because he knows these boys from the youth level.
“He’s known them for a long time, some of them, and he still has that trust; that partnership is very strong.”
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