It has been a real glove story for shot-stoppers at the , with a number of established stars cementing their reputations, unheralded goalkeepers having breakout tournaments and veteran net minders saying farewell to the global stage.
The for the , which is awarded to the best goalkeeper at the World Cup, is Spain's Unai Simon, who has conceded just one goal in seven games en route to the final. Also in the running are France's Mike Maignan, who has had four clean sheets, plus Argentina's Emiliano Martinez and England's Jordan Pickford.
Morocco's Yassine Bounou had another outstanding tournament after his heroics at Qatar 2022, most notably over the Netherlands in the Round of 32 and then making six saves in the in the quarter-finals, including a Kylian Mbappe spot kick.
But it is , who have really captured the imagination of the global audience. The standout performance arguably belongs to Eloy Room, who made 16 saves – a record for a 90-minute World Cup match – to keep Ecuador at bay and earn Curaçao a maiden tournament point in Kansas City.
Elsewhere, Cabo Verde's Vozinha belied his 40 years by shutting out European champions Spain before making an extraordinary eight saves against Argentina in the Round of 32, earning the praise of Lionel Messi afterwards. Meanwhile, Australia's Patrick Beach, IR Iran's Alireza Beiranvand, Paraguay's Orlando Gill and Congo DR's Lionel Mpasi also had outstanding tournaments and made global names for themselves.
Former Switzerland goalie Pascal Zuberbuhler, who leads the FIFA Technical Study Group at the World Cup alongside Arsene Wenger, has been playing particularly close attention to the performances of the goalkeepers in North America.
Zuberbuhler gave FIFA his unique insight into new goalkeeping trends, penalty shootouts and Guillermo Ochoa's final flourish.
Pascal Zuberbuhler: Many goalkeepers at this World Cup have used the time to shine. I am very happy to see goalkeepers who we didn't have on our radar use this opportunity to shine. There were many goalkeepers from the 48 teams who used this platform to lift themselves up. Everyone is talking about Vozinha and Eloy Room and so many goalkeepers showed fantastic skills and involvement in the build-up. Vozinha did not only have a good game against Spain, he also showed his quality in all his other matches like against Argentina.
To see the variety from the goalkeepers has been great. The goalkeeper has been completely involved in their performances in build-up and in defending the goal. In some of the smaller teams which we did not know so much how they would play, you can see how much the goalkeeper is involved in the build-up. The goalkeeper is there as an extra player in the build-up, they are like [an American football] quarterback.
Every team has their DNA about how to build-up from the back and that often starts by goal kicks, which is an offensive set-play for a team. From there you read and see there is a strategy. It is not only goalkeepers who put the ball on the six-yard line and kick the ball wide and long. You see now the goalkeepers start to build up and is the quarterback - 'do I play long, short, around, into, or make a through pass?' And it's great to see the variety of the goalkeepers in this tournament.
There has been a big change with the goal kick. In 2018, the goalkeeper made the first touch short or long 100 per cent. Then in 2022, the rule changed that defenders are next to you in the box and there 90 per cent of the time the goalkeeper started with the first touch. Now in 2026 it is 50 per cent that the goalkeeper starts with the first touch. This is a big change. Normally, there are two strikers outside the box waiting for the defender to pass the ball to the goalkeeper. Then they go towards the defenders and the goalkeeper has two or three seconds longer to make the decision about where to pass the ball. That is why the goalkeeper for me is like the quarterback to make the right decision at the right moment.
Also now, goalkeepers are playing long balls behind the opponents' defence. This is a new trend of kicking the ball behind the opponent. Jordan Pickford did this especially against Mexico [in the Round of 16] and Zion Suzuki did this also for Japan. This is a new trend - five to 10 years ago goalkeepers were not allowed to kick the ball long by coaches, they wanted goalkeepers to play outside of the box with a through pass. Now the variety to play short, a middle-long ball, a long ball or behind the opponent is a big trend from this tournament.
More goalkeepers are more brave to come out and punch the ball, both from open-play crosses and corner kicks. Before the tournament, there was a spotlight on corner kicks because the goalkeeper comes under pressure and players surround the goalkeepers try to push and block them. In this tournament, we did not have any issues in this direction as referees straight away have blown fouls if you touch or block the goalkeeper on corner kicks.
What happened? Now you have a little more space around you and they are not getting touched straight away so they have one metre to make one step and come out. This is a help for the goalkeepers and now they step out and punch the ball and not try to claim it. There is no chance in this situation to claim it because it is too crowded. The same happens on crosses. Now punch attempts after 60 minutes is going up.
The X-block is where a goalkeeper comes out and holds his arms and legs out in a big star. This was this big save that Emiliano Martinez made at the end of the Qatar 2022 final. Now all goalkeepers around the world are training to do this. It is not easy because you need great timing to make it - the striker needs to be three-four metres in front of you and the goalkeeper must not turn his face or lean back. From 2018 to 2022 to 2026, there has been a massive increase to use the X-block in the right moment from all goalkeepers around the world.
I like how goalkeepers play on the line. Players are stopping to wait to see how the goalkeeper is moving is a trend from the player side. If you are a goalkeeper who knows how to behave in this situation this is a win situation because then the battle happens. You can move your body on one side and provoke him on the other side and wait as long as you can hold you position. Bounou of Morocco is a penalty killer in this situation, he has the patience to wait as long as possible. With the stop and waiting strategy, now you see the more successful rate in setting the ball and shooting it in one flow.
It is positive for Ochoa to end his career this way. It was beautiful to have this moment in his own country and to end up at his age after such a successful career is amazing. For Neuer, he is a goalkeeper icon. He showed a new trend as an offensive player to play so high up with a brave playing style. He has had a very impressive career.
Sources: FIFA Official
