10 best goalkeepers of the World Cup, featuring four you’d never heard of…

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11 July 2026

Here are our top 10 goalkeepers from the

World Cup

so far, with two of the top three probably unknown to you before the tournament…

Goalkeepers have really shone during the 2026

, with some huge contributions from the big names alongside some breakthrough performances from stoppers we weren’t familiar with last month.

Here are the 10 that have stood out so far…

We can hardly omit the

Spain

stopper after he set a new record of 650 minutes without conceding a

goal.

Granted, Simon hasn’t been as busy as most. Actually, the

Athletic Bilbao

keeper has faced only eight shots all tournament.

But he has showed why Luis de la Fuente has remained faithful to him since coming through Spain’s youth ranks. Simon is keeping the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and La Liga – David Raya and Joan Garcia – on the sidelines, not so much because of his shot-stopping, but often because how he averts danger before it becomes a problem with his positioning and how he defends the space around his goal.

The 35-year-old has looked solid throughout the tournament but his performance against Brazil was perhaps the biggest of his career.

Nyland made a series of fine saves, arguably the best being to push a deflected shot on to the post, as well as saving Bruno Guimaraes’ penalty. When Nyland had to face another late spot-kick, he could not keep it out but still he brought out the d*ck in Neymar.

Nyland’s performances are all the more impressive considering he’s been sat on Sevilla’s sideline for all but five La Liga games last season. As a free agent, the ex-Villa, Bournemouth, Norwich, Reading has shone in the shop window.

Shobeir, son of Egypt’s Italia ’90 keeper Ahmed, had the first half of his dreams against Argentina. Saving Lionel Messi’s penalty was among the easiest of the saves he made, with one from Julian Alvarez almost taking his arm off at the shoulder.

The penalty save from Messi was Shobeir’s second of the

, making him the fourth keeper ever to save two spot-kicks in the same tournament. The others? Answers at the bottom…

The theme for the Atlas Lions keeper this tournament will always be around his penalty heroics, saving four spot-kicks in shootouts and normal time to tie the record with Harald Schumacher (West Germany, 1982 and 1986), Sergio Goycochea (Argentina, 1990); Danijel Subasic (Croatia, 2018); and Dominik Livakovic (Croatia, 2022).

His spot-kicks success is no fluke, with Bounou having been beaten only four times from 12 penalties in Morocco’s last three shoot-outs.

The 35-year-old, though, has been just as impressive in open play, especially against France when he made six saves despite

Morocco

making their exit.

Suzuki has been on the radar of many big hitters even prior to what’s been something of a breakout tournament for the New Jersey-born keeper.

Manchester United were linked with the 23-year-old almost immediately after he joined

Parma

in 2024, while Leeds and Aston Villa are said to be fighting for his signature.

Suzuki showed why in four games, especially against Brazil where he denied Vinicius Jr with a magnificent save, and he was agonisingly close to keeping out Gabriel Martinelli’s late winner.

Very comfortable in possession and a commanding presence in his box, Suzuki should settle quickly into the Premier League for whichever club is decisive enough to win the race.

The Socceroos stopper had only two starts before he was surprisingly given the nod to start as Tony Popovic’s no.1. A smart call, as it turned out.

Unfortunately, the

Australia

manager tried to be clever, replacing the in-form Beach with Mat Ryan for the penalty shoot-out against

Egypt

, despite another fine performance from the rookie.

Egypt were probably glad to see the back of Beach, making no mistake against Ryan. In the four games prior, Beach looked like an international veteran, making a series a fine saves on his

debut against Turkey while being a safe pair of hands against United States and Paraguay.

Kobel was Man of the Match as

Switzerland

beat Colombia to reach their first quarter-final since 1954, the Dortmund keeper making a couple of fine saves in 120 minutes before one brilliant stop in the shoot out.

Refreshingly, Kobel prefers to play on instinct in shootouts rather than rely on whatever the goalkeeper coach has scribbled on his bottle or towel: “I think there are others who are more prepared than me. I think feeling is a big part in this situation. I’ll watch the shape of the taker, their movements, their eyes, it’s a combination of everything. At the end though, it’s just feeling and I go where it takes me.”

Switzerland’s success has been built on a strong defensive foundation, especially against Colombia when they were happy to sit in. Of the 32 to reach the knockout stage, only three keepers – those of

, France and Colombia – have conceded fewer goals than Kobel.

Just after the last

, Gill was having to sell his kit to make some money to support his family and his prematurely-born son. Three and a half years later, the 26-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough tournament and is being linked with Manchester United.

The 6ft 6in stopper really shone against Germany in the last 32. Although he was fortunate to get a free-kick to rule out Jonathan Tah’s injury time goal, he made two great saves in the shoot out to deny Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade.

After an opening defeat to the United States that reflected no more poorly on Gill than anyone else, the

San Lorenzo

stopper conceded just once the the following three games including extra-time against Germany, saving 16 of the 17 shots on his goal.

Even France needed a penalty to beat Gill while those in front of him tried to kick the sh*t out of Les Bleus, the keeper being awarded Man of the Match despite Paraguay’s exit.

This tournament would have been a lot worse for

Portugal

were it not for the

Porto

no.1

Only three keepers have faced more shots on target but no one has a better saves percentage – 86.4 per cent.

Costa, a long-term target for Chelsea, was named Man of the Match in the goalless draw with Colombia but arguably had his best game in the win over Croatia. Even in defeat to

, Costa made five saves from six shots faced.

In a tournament through which goalkeepers have generally excelled,

Vozinha

will always be the stopper synonymous with the 2026

He shot to fame by making seven saves to keep a stunning clean sheet against

on his

debut. Only Northern Ireland’s Pat Jennings had made more as 40-plus goalkeeper against Brazil in 1986.

Vozinha went one better against Argentina with eight stops while going head to head with Lionel Messi. His composure in possession was just as impressive as his shot-stopping, and finishing the tournament with more dribbles than Cristiano Ronaldo was a lovely touch.

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