Despite often staying out of the spotlight, goalkeepers remain one of the most crucial pillars of any football team. While fans may not always highlight their contributions, their role behind the scenes is indispensable. That scenario has changed in the modern game with the introduction of sweeper keepers, which has increased the impact of goalkeepers on the game. However, historically, the limelight has always been reserved for attacking players.

For instance, a casual fan is more likely to recall players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Luka Modric rather than players like Iker Casillas, Barthez or Courtois. Interestingly, both Barthez and Courtois have both received the Golden Glove, FIFA’s highest award for goalkeepers for their highest performance.

The Golden Glove has long been a prestigious honour in the FIFA World Cup, awarded to the tournament’s best goalkeeper. While awards like the Golden Boot and Golden Ball celebrate goal-scoring and overall brilliance, the Golden Glove recognises excellence between the posts.

The award was first formally introduced in 1994 as the Lev Yashin Award, named after legendary Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin. It was later rebranded as the Golden Glove in 2010. With a rich history and immense prestige, the award honours some of the finest goalkeeping performances in World Cup history-here’s a look at all the winners over the years.

FIFA World Cup 2026: Who Are The Golden Glove Winners?

• 1930 – Enrique Ballestrero (Uruguay)
• 1934 – Ricardo Zamora (Spain)
• 1938 – Frantisek Planicka (Czechoslovakia)
• 1950 – Roque Maspoli (Uruguay)
• 1954 – Gyula Grosics (Hungary)
• 1958 – Harry Gregg (Northern Ireland)
• 1962 – Viliam Schrojf (Czechoslovakia)
• 1966 – Gordon Banks (England)
• 1970 – Ladislao Mazurkiewicz (Uruguay)
• 1974 – Sepp Maier (West Germany)
• 1978 – Ubaldo Fillol (Argentina)
• 1982 – Dino Zoff (Italy)
• 1986 – Jean-Marie Pfaff (Belgium)
• 1990 – Luis Gabelo Conejo (Costa Rica), Sergio Goycochea (Argentina)
• 1994 – Michel Preud’homme (Belgium)
• 1998 – Fabien Barthez (France)
• 2002 – Oliver Kahn (Germany)
• 2006 – Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
• 2010 – Iker Casillas (Spain)
• 2014 – Manuel Neuer (Germany)
• 2018 – Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
• 2022 – Emiliano Martínez (Argentina)