Legendary guardians: the goalkeepers who made World Cup history
From Lev Yashin, the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or, to Dino Zoff, a champion at 40: keepers write World Cup history too.
Goalkeeper is football's loneliest position, but it has also produced immortal figures at World Cups. The Soviet Union's Lev Yashin, «the Black Spider», is the only keeper to have won the Ballon d'Or (1963) and played in three World Cups.
Veteran status has an Italian name: Dino Zoff lifted the 1982 World Cup as Italy's captain at 40, and remains the oldest world champion in history. Earlier, in 1970, Gordon Banks had produced against Pelé what many consider the greatest save ever seen.
In terms of records, Italy's Walter Zenga kept a clean sheet for 517 minutes at the 1990 World Cup, a finals shutout mark that still stands.
Goalkeepers have also been title-winning captains, though only four have managed it: Combi (1934), Zoff (1982), Iker Casillas (2010) and Hugo Lloris (2018). Casillas was decisive in the 2010 final with a one-on-one save against Robben. More recently, Emiliano Martínez was Argentina's hero in 2022.
One curious detail completes the picture: no goalkeeper has ever scored a goal in the finals of a men's World Cup. Between the posts, glory is measured in saves.
Source: Wikipedia (Lev Yashin; Dino Zoff; Walter Zenga; Gordon Banks; FIFA World Cup awards).