All FIFA World Cup Golden Glove winners listed by year
Since 1994, eight goalkeepers have won the World Cup Golden Glove, first known as the Yashin Trophy. The full list of FIFA World Cup winners of that award runs from Michel Preud'homme to Emiliano Martínez in 2022. Five of those eight also lifted the World Cup trophy itself.
Key Takeaways
- The award debuted as the Yashin Trophy in 1994 and became the Golden Glove in 2010.
- Belgium and Germany each have two winners; France, Italy, Spain, and Argentina have one.
- Five of the eight winners also helped their countries claim the World Cup title.
- In 2026, Spain's Unai Simón and Argentina's Emiliano Martínez headline the race for a ninth Golden Glove.
Who has won every World Cup Golden Glove?
According to Sports Illustrated, the complete roll call is Michel Preud'homme (Belgium, 1994), Fabien Barthez (France, 1998), Oliver Kahn (Germany, 2002), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, 2006), Iker Casillas (Spain, 2010), Manuel Neuer (Germany, 2014), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium, 2018), and Emiliano Martínez (Argentina, 2022).
FIFA's technical panel picks the tournament's best goalkeeper. Clean sheets help, but defining saves and shootout heroics can tip the decision. The prize honors Lev Yashin, the legendary Soviet keeper who died in 1990 and for whom the original Yashin Trophy was named.
Does the Golden Glove always go to a World Cup champion?
No. Of eight recipients, five also became FIFA World Cup winners with their national teams: Barthez, Buffon, Casillas, Neuer, and Martínez. Kahn reached the 2002 final with Germany. Courtois finished third with Belgium in 2018, while Preud'homme's Belgium exited in the last 16 in 1994.
MARCA notes that winning the Golden Glove does not always mean lifting the trophy, even when keepers deliver standout campaigns. That mix of glory and near-misses still fuels Bizarre World interest in World Cup awards: individual brilliance and team destiny often travel together, but not always.
Who is favored for the 2026 Golden Glove?
Squawka reports the 2026 race has narrowed to a Spain–Argentina final showdown between Unai Simón and Emiliano Martínez. Simón entered as the heavy favorite after a sixth clean sheet in Spain's 2–0 semi-final win over France. Martínez, seeking to become the first back-to-back Golden Glove winner, has fewer clean sheets but a reputation for big-game and penalty heroics that panels reward.
The ninth award will be handed out after Sunday's final, extending a list that began more than three decades ago and still ranks among soccer's most coveted individual honors on the sport's biggest stage.