Who holds the record for the longest World Cup shutout streak?

Walter Zenga holds the record for the longest World Cup shutout streak, going 517 consecutive minutes without conceding for Italy in 1990.

Zenga kept five consecutive clean sheets during Italy’s home tournament. His run began in the group stage and continued through the round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final. It ended in the semi-final against Argentina, when Claudio Caniggia headed past him in the second half.

Italy ultimately lost that semi-final on penalties after a 1–1 draw, so Zenga’s streak did not carry into the final. The 517-minute figure refers to consecutive minutes without conceding during World Cup tournament play, not to an entire international career or every match played by the goalkeeper.

This record is sometimes confused with the World Cup clean-sheet totals of Peter Shilton and Fabien Barthez, who each recorded ten clean sheets across their World Cup careers. Zenga’s mark is a consecutive-minutes record, making it a different category from total shutouts.