FIFA WC 2026: Former Indian goalkeeper Chandrakant hails Unai Simon's role in Spain's title win
Following Spain's FIFA World Cup win, former Indian goalkeeper and Punjab FC youth goalkeeping coach Chandrakant Naik hailed the newly crowned champions for their man-to-man marking against legend Lionel Messi and consistent clean sheets delivered by goalie Unai Simón.
An extra-time strike from Ferran Torres in the 106th minute proved to be the point of difference between title defenders Argentina and current Euro champions Spain. Messi's dream of going back-to-back World Cup wins were shattered as Spain continued their unbeaten run across all international football, extending it to 38 matches to seal their first WC title since 2010 edition.
During the match, while Argentina goalie Emiliano Martinez kept the defending champions in the game with 10 sensational saves, it was the Spanish wall Unai Simon who prevailed, securing his seventh clean sheet in eight matches and the prestigious 'Golden Glove' award. He also established a new record for most minutes unbeaten during a FIFA WC as Spain became the first team to have six successive clean sheets in tournament history.
Lionel Messi, who had a sensational run in the tournament with eight goals and four assists, could not bring the 'MessiMania' against a defensively well-oiled Spanish side.
Speaking to ANI, Chandrakant, a Santosh Trophy winner with Goa and an Indian international goalie, said about the WC final, "The Spanish team played well. They put a lot of pressure. And for Messi, they did a lot of man-to-man marking."
He also highlighted Unai's great communication with the defenders and his experience.
"Unai's performance was very good. He communicated well with the defence. He saved a lot of balls, showing his experience," Chandrakant added.
On Messi, who saw his dream of two back-to-back WCs shattered and perhaps played his final game for the nation, Chandrakant said, "I would like to say that he is a very good player. He is an experienced player. I consider him to be great."
Highlighting his team's run at the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) exposure tour to Japan, where they registered wins over Avispa Fukuoka and Giravanz Kitakyushu before losing to FC Baleine Shimonoseski, Chandrakant noted that his team had players of under-18, under-19 level and they managed to give a tough time to opponents bigger than them in age.
In the final match of their tour to Baleine Shimonoseski, they lost 7-6 on penalties after the match ended at 1-1 in regulation time.
"Our team had under-18, under-19 boys, the opposition today had much aged and experienced players. Our kids have given them a tough time. It is the team's responsibility to win or lose. I had changed my goalkeeper after three penalties. The new goalie had saved two penalties for the team. Unfortunately, our players could not score, so its our bad luck," he added.
On a concluding note, about the exposure tour, which concluded with two wins and loss, he said, "This tour is an experience tour for the players. I have learnt a lot from this tour. I would like to take this experience with me. I have learnt a lot from this experience as a coach."
"The opposite team was not a small one and they were really good (in the tour's final match). In our previous match (against Giravanz Kitakyushu), they put a lot of pressure on us in the first 15 minutes. However, we held them back and we won," he signed off. (ANI)
