The European champions have reached the quarter-finals without conceding a single goal.
The World Cup has reached the quarter-final stage and European champions Spain have reached the final eight by playing better and better each game. While the likes of Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal have been grabbing most of the headlines for their exploits up front, the success of La Roja also has so much to do with the defensive contributions at the back. Click this link https://a.meridianbet.ke/c/C7pYjz to start gaming and stand a chance of winning big with Meridianbet.
After five matches in this World Cup, Spain are yet to concede a single goal. They are the only team of the 48 who entered the tournament to remain perfect at the back, a very impressive achievement after 450 minutes of play.
In the case of goalkeeper Unai Simón, the Athletic Club man has even been setting records. When adding his minutes without conceding from the last World Cup, he has now reached 609 minutes since he had to pick the ball out the back of the net on international football’s biggest stage. That is an all-time record, as he has surpassed the legendary Walter Zenga’s previous run of 518 World Cup minutes without letting in a goal.
Unai Simón has also been helped by his defence. The goalkeeper has actually only had to make six saves so far this tournament, and that’s in large part because of how well Pau Cubarsí and Aymeric Laporte have been playing in central defence. The FC Barcelona and Athletic Club defenders have played 450 minutes each and have become a formidable duo, combining the youth of a 19-year-old with the experience of a 32-year-old.
They both rank in the top five for the entire competition in terms of accurate passes played, with Cubarsí second overall with 432 and Laporte fifth overall with 397. The Barça player’s success rate of 96% in passing is truly remarkable. Then, in the more classic defensive sense, Laporte has made 10 interceptions so far, the fourth-most in the tournament.
This trio has been key in helping Spain to reach the quarter-finals, and they all play their club football in LALIGA EA SPORTS, two of them for the same team. They’ll hope to keep this partnership going in the quarter-finals, where Spain now take on Belgium.
The other LALIGA players performing well
Several other footballers who play for Spanish clubs have been impressing as well. Speaking of goalkeepers, Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois has made 10 total saves, including six from shots inside the area, to help Belgium set up their quarter-final date with Spain.
His Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham has been excellent for England, scoring two decisive goals in the team’s epic 3-2 victory against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca. That has taken the Englishman’s goals tally for the tournament up to four. Higher up in the Golden Boot race, Kylian Mbappé is on seven goals, the same as Erling Haaland and just one behind leader Lionel Messi.
When it comes to assists, Brahim Díaz has already set up four goals for Morocco this tournament, as they look to reach the semi-finals for a second successive tournament. That’s the joint-second most assists by one player at the tournament, only behind Michael Olise.
It really has been a successful tournament already for many LALIGA EA SPORTS players. And there are three rounds still to go.
