10 Best Penalty-Saving Goalkeepers in World Cup History

Few moments in football concentrate pressure into a single instant quite like a World Cup penalty shootout — one step, one dive, one decision, and a nation’s tournament lives or dies. The goalkeepers who thrive in those moments occupy a unique space in football folklore, and here we rank the ten greatest of them: not just by raw numbers, but by context, consistency, and the magnitude of the moments they shaped. From Harald Schumacher’s iron nerve in 1982 to Emiliano Martínez’s psychological theatre in Qatar, this is the definitive ranking of the penalty-saving performances that defined generations.

Criteria for Determining the Top 10 Penalty-Saving Goalkeepers in World Cup History

Identifying the most penalties saved World Cup goalkeeper is not as simple as counting stops. A goalkeeper who saves three penalties in a single shootout in the knockout rounds of a World Cup semi-final is doing something categorically different from one who saves two in a group-stage dead rubber. Our ranking applied the following criteria:

Criterion	Description
Total Penalties Saved	The primary metric — number of penalty kicks stopped across all World Cup shootouts
Tournament Stage	Saves recorded in quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals carry greater weight
Save Rate	Percentage of penalties faced that were stopped, contextualising volume
Tactical Impact	Evidence of preparation, positioning, or psychological disruption beyond raw athleticism
Data Source	FIFA.com World Cup goalkeeper records, Opta World Cup penalty facts, and verified historical accounts

A goalkeeper who reached four saves across multiple tournaments is ranked above one who reached the same figure in a single competition — consistency across World Cups is the mark of a true specialist. This methodology ensures the list reflects genuine mastery of the shootout art, not a statistical anomaly.

Top 10 Penalty-Saving Goalkeepers at the World Cup

The World Cup penalty shootout has produced some of the most visceral moments in football history — missed kicks, broken hearts, immortal dives. But for every taker who steps into the spotlight, there is a goalkeeper who defines the shootout from the other side of the eighteen-yard box.

The goalkeepers on this list collectively stopped penalties at crucial moments spanning four decades of World Cup football, across three continents, under pressures that most athletes will never experience. Here is how they rank, in ascending order:

Rank	Goalkeeper	Country	Saves	World Cup(s)
10	Oleksandr Shovkovskyi	Ukraine	2	2006
9	Yassine Bounou	Morocco	2	2022
8	Iker Casillas	Spain	2	2002, 2010
7	Kasper Schmeichel	Denmark	3	2018
6	Emiliano Martínez	Argentina	3	2022
5	Ricardo	Portugal	3	2006
4	Dominik Livaković	Croatia	4	2022
3	Danijel Subašić	Croatia	4	2018
2	Sergio Goycochea	Argentina	4	1990
1	Harald Schumacher	West Germany	4	1982, 1986

Now let us examine each goalkeeper in detail — starting from #10 and building to the holder of the World Cup penalty shootout saves record.

#10 Oleksandr Shovkovskyi — Ukraine, 2006

Oleksandr Shovkovskyi’s presence on this list is a testament to what can be achieved on a single, unforgettable afternoon. Ukraine’s round-of-16 match against Switzerland in Cologne, 2006, ended goalless after extra time — a match that produced no goals in open play but was decided by kicks from the spot. Shovkovskyi saved two Swiss penalties, with a third hitting the bar, as Ukraine won 3-0 to advance to the quarter-finals. For a nation making its World Cup debut, the psychological weight of that moment was immense. Shovkovskyi carried it.

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• Saved 2 penalties in the 2006 World Cup shootout vs Switzerland (a third Swiss kick hit the bar), helping Ukraine reach the quarter-finals of Germany 2006
• Ukraine reached the quarter-finals of Germany 2006, their sole World Cup appearance at that stage
• Dynamo Kyiv’s long-serving and most celebrated goalkeeper, with a career spanning three decades
• One of Eastern Europe’s finest goalkeepers of his generation
• His saves remain among the most statistically significant in World Cup shootout history for any debutant nation

#9 Yassine Bounou — Morocco, 2022

Yassine Bounou announced himself on the global stage in Qatar with two penalty saves in Morocco’s round-of-16 victory over Spain. Spain failed to score any of their three penalties — Bounou saving two, with a third hitting the post — and Morocco won 3-0. The performance was as much psychological as physical: Bounou had been a surprise late omission from the pre-match warm-up, only to emerge between the posts and proceed to deny two of Spain’s designated takers. Morocco’s run to the semi-finals was the greatest achievement in African World Cup history, and Bounou’s shootout heroics against Spain were the moment it truly began.

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• 2 penalty saves in the 2022 World Cup shootout vs Spain — a defining moment in Morocco’s historic run
• Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals; Bounou was central to that achievement
• Voted one of the best goalkeepers at Qatar 2022 by multiple outlets
• Club career at Sevilla followed by a move to Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League confirmed his status as a goalkeeper who performed at the highest level
• His pre-match psychological manoeuvre against Spain has become one of the most discussed moments in recent World Cup history

#8 Iker Casillas — Spain, 2002 & 2010

Iker Casillas’s penalty shootout record across two World Cups confirms what everyone who watched him already knew: he was one of the most complete goalkeepers of his era under extreme pressure. In 2002, Casillas saved two penalties against the Republic of Ireland in the round of 16 — denying David Connolly and Kevin Kilbane in a match Spain won 3-2 on penalties. Spain then lost to South Korea in the quarter-final, a shootout in which Casillas was not the decisive figure. By 2010, as Spain lifted the trophy in Johannesburg, his penalty save from Paraguay’s Oscar Cardozo in the quarter-final knockout rounds was an underappreciated subplot to a historic triumph. Casillas finished his World Cup career with 3 shootout saves across two tournaments — a figure that feels modest only because his overall influence extended far beyond the penalty area.

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• 2 World Cup penalty shootout saves (vs Republic of Ireland, 2002) plus 1 open-play penalty save (vs Paraguay, 2010) — the first goalkeeper to save penalties at multiple World Cup tournaments
• Part of Spain’s 2010 World Cup-winning squad, their only FIFA World Cup triumph
• Winner of the Golden Glove at the 2010 World Cup
• Two-time UEFA Champions League winner and arguably the greatest Spanish goalkeeper of all time
• FIFA World Cup goalkeeper records confirm Casillas among the elite in terms of overall performance metrics

#7 Kasper Schmeichel — Denmark, 2018

Kasper Schmeichel’s performance in Denmark’s round-of-16 tie against Croatia at Russia 2018 deserves far more recognition than it typically receives. He saved one penalty during extra time — denying Luka Modric in the 116th minute — and two more in the shootout, from Milan Badelj and Josip Pivaric, a total of three stops. Denmark ultimately lost a shootout that, by any reasonable measure, Schmeichel had done everything to win — only to be matched save for save by Danijel Subašić on the other side, in one of the greatest combined goalkeeping displays in World Cup history. Schmeichel’s three saves in a single match place him among the elite in FIFA World Cup shootout statistics, and the cruelty of the final outcome only underlines how fine the margins in international penalty football truly are. His father Peter famously kept goal when Denmark won a penalty shootout at Euro 1992 — but Kasper’s single-match penalty tally at a World Cup stands alone in the family record.

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• 3 penalty saves in a single World Cup match (1 in extra time vs Modric + 2 in shootout vs Badelj and Pivaric) vs Croatia, 2018
• Among the highest single-match penalty save tallies in World Cup history; combined with Subašić’s three saves on the day, the match produced a record five saves in a World Cup shootout
• Denmark reached the round of 16 at Russia 2018; Schmeichel was their standout performer
• Premier League winner with Leicester City in 2016, one of the sport’s greatest upsets
• Son of Peter Schmeichel, making the family’s contribution to international goalkeeping one of football’s great dynasties
• His saves vs Croatia are consistently cited in World Cup penalty shootout analysis as among the finest in the tournament’s history

#6 Emiliano Martínez — Argentina, 2022

Emiliano Martínez did not just save penalties at Qatar 2022 — he weaponised the entire shootout ritual. His 3 saves — two against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals and one against France in the final — combined with a deliberate campaign of psychological disruption — delaying, taunting, relocating the ball — helped Argentina navigate the most fraught moments of their path to the title. Against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, a shootout that had already descended into high drama became the stage for one of the most theatrical goalkeeping performances in World Cup history. Martínez is not the most penalties saved World Cup goalkeeper by raw numbers, but his impact on Argentina’s 2022 triumph was arguably unmatched by any other individual in a single tournament.

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• 3 penalty saves in the 2022 World Cup — 2 against the Netherlands in the quarter-final, 1 against France in the final
• World Cup winner with Argentina at Qatar 2022
• Named FIFA World Cup Golden Glove winner (Best Goalkeeper) at Qatar 2022
• His performance against the Netherlands — combining two shootout saves with sustained psychological pressure — has been widely analysed as one of the most influential individual displays in tournament shootout history
• Became the focal point of global controversy for his celebration tactics, which nonetheless proved entirely effective
• Aston Villa’s undisputed first choice before his World Cup heroics; his valuation surged significantly afterward

#5 Ricardo — Portugal, 2006

Ricardo occupies a uniquely bizarre chapter in tournament football history, with his defining moments coming across two separate penalty shootouts against England. At Euro 2004, he removed his gloves before saving Darius Vassell’s penalty, then stepped up and scored the winning kick himself — a combination of psychological theatre and nerve that has since passed into legend. Two years later, at the 2006 World Cup quarter-final in Germany, he delivered the finest purely goalkeeping performance of his career: three saves in a single shootout — from Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher — without any need for additional theatrics. Portugal reached the semi-finals, their best World Cup finish since 1966.

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• 3 penalty saves in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final vs England — the first goalkeeper to achieve this in a single World Cup shootout
• Also saved and scored in the same shootout vs England at Euro 2004 — removing his gloves before saving Vassell’s penalty and then converting the winner
• His gloves removal at Euro 2004 is one of the most iconic acts of goalkeeping psychological warfare in international football history
• Portugal reached the semi-finals at Germany 2006, their best World Cup finish since 1966
• Consistently cited among the most statistically unusual and psychologically impactful goalkeeper performances across major tournaments
• Club career at Sporting CP and later Beşiktaş confirmed him as a reliable top-level performer

#4 Dominik Livaković — Croatia, 2022

Dominik Livaković carried Croatia’s 2022 World Cup campaign almost single-handedly in the knockout rounds. Four penalty saves — spread across shootouts against Japan and Brazil — placed him among the most prolific shootout performers in a single World Cup, matching the record held by his predecessor Danijel Subašić. Against Japan in the round of 16, he saved three kicks in a single shootout. Against Brazil in the quarter-finals, a stunning open-play performance across 120 minutes kept Croatia in the tie before his save from Rodrygo in the shootout helped dismantle the favourites. His FIFA World Cup shootout statistics across Qatar 2022 are the most concentrated in recent tournament history.

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• 4 penalty saves at Qatar 2022 — across two separate shootouts (vs Japan and vs Brazil)
• Saved 3 penalties in a single shootout vs Japan, round of 16
• Croatia reached the semi-finals at Qatar 2022 — among the finest achievements in their national football history
• Named in multiple World Cup Best XI selections for his 2022 performances
• His shootout numbers across a single tournament rank alongside the all-time leaders for most penalties saved in World Cup history
• Subsequent club move to Fenerbahçe reflected his status as one of Europe’s elite goalkeepers following his 2022 World Cup performances

#3 Danijel Subašić — Croatia, 2018

Danijel Subašić’s role in Croatia’s run to the 2018 World Cup final is one of the sport’s most underappreciated stories. He saved four penalties across the knockout rounds — three against Denmark in the round of 16, one against Russia in the quarter-finals — and the Russia performance was arguably the more extraordinary of the two. He appeared to pick up a significant hamstring injury in the final moments of the second half against Russia, yet played on through extra time and still made the critical first save of the shootout. That he could produce under those physical conditions speaks to an extraordinary level of mental fortitude. Croatia were playing in their very first World Cup final, and Subašić’s penalty work in the knockout stage was a primary reason why. His record of four saves in a single World Cup is the joint tournament record, shared with Goycochea (1990) and Livaković (2022).

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• 4 penalty saves at Russia 2018 — including 3 in a single shootout vs Denmark; joint single-tournament record alongside Goycochea (1990) and Livaković (2022)
• Suffered a hamstring injury during the Russia quarter-final yet remained on the pitch and saved a penalty in the subsequent shootout
• Croatia reached the World Cup final for the first time in their history; Subašić was a decisive figure
• His 3-save performance vs Denmark was only the second time a goalkeeper had saved three penalties in a single World Cup shootout, matching Portugal’s Ricardo against England in 2006
• Long-serving AS Monaco goalkeeper; his World Cup performances represent the pinnacle of a distinguished club career

#2 Sergio Goycochea — Argentina, 1990

Sergio Goycochea did not start Italia 90 as Argentina’s first-choice goalkeeper. He finished it as one of the most celebrated penalty specialists the World Cup has ever produced. After Nery Pumpido broke his leg in the 11th minute of Argentina’s second group game against the Soviet Union, and Goycochea stepped in — and then refused to leave. He saved four penalties across Argentina’s run: two against Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals and two against Italy in the semi-finals. In both cases his saves were the direct reason Argentina progressed, though the Yugoslavia shootout was particularly dramatic — Argentina were themselves trailing in the shootout before Goycochea intervened. In an era before the systematic goalkeeping analysis now provided by modern data providers, Goycochea operated entirely on instinct and nerve — and he was virtually unbeatable from the spot. Argentina lost the final to West Germany, decided by a single penalty in open play, but Goycochea’s 1990 remains one of the great individual World Cup goalkeeper performances in history.

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• 4 penalty saves at Italia 1990 — across shootouts vs Yugoslavia and Italy, the joint-record for most saves in a single World Cup tournament (shared with Danijel Subašić in 2018 and Dominik Livaković in 2022)
• Argentina reached the final of the 1990 World Cup; Goycochea’s shootout heroics were indispensable to that run
• A replacement goalkeeper who became the undisputed star of the tournament’s decisive moments
• His back-to-back shootout performances remain among the most scrutinised in World Cup penalty shootout history
• Inspired subsequent generations of Argentine goalkeepers — including Emiliano Martínez — in their approach to the shootout ritual
• One of only four goalkeepers in World Cup history to save four or more penalties across their World Cup career, and one of three to achieve that tally within a single tournament

#1 Harald Schumacher — West Germany, 1982 & 1986

Harald Schumacher was the first goalkeeper to accumulate four World Cup penalty shootout saves, doing so across two campaigns with West Germany — Spain 1982 and Mexico 1986 — in an era when shootout preparation was rudimentary by modern standards and goalkeeping coaches had no algorithmic data to draw from. Schumacher read the game with a cold, calculating intelligence that made him uniquely difficult to beat in high-pressure moments. West Germany were arguably the definitive shootout team of that era, and Schumacher was the foundation of their reputation. His record has since been equalled by Sergio Goycochea (Argentina, 1990), Danijel Subašić (Croatia, 2018), and Dominik Livaković (Croatia, 2022), but Schumacher was the pioneer — the first to demonstrate that cross-tournament shootout excellence was achievable, and doing so before systematic preparation became standard across international football.

Key Achievements & Career Stats:

• 4 penalty saves across 1982 and 1986 World Cups — joint-record for most World Cup penalty shootout saves, a mark he set first and which has since been equalled by three others
• West Germany reached the final in both 1982 and 1986; Schumacher was first-choice goalkeeper in both campaigns
• One of the most technically complete European goalkeepers of the 1980s
• His performances across two tournaments established the template for cross-tournament shootout consistency in World Cup history
• A figure who defined the shootout era before systematic preparation became standard across international football

Honourable Mentions

The competition for a place in this top 10 is fierce — and the five goalkeepers below made compelling cases of their own.

Taffarel — Brazil (1994) was the last line of defence in the first-ever shootout to decide a World Cup final. Though his save tally was not exceptional by number, his performance against Italy in the Pasadena final — helping Brazil end a 24-year wait for the trophy — places him among the most consequential goalkeepers in tournament history. His block to deny Daniele Massaro kept Brazil ahead, before Roberto Baggio’s infamous miss from the following kick sealed the title.

Igor Akinfeev — Russia (2018) produced the most celebrated shootout performance by a host nation’s goalkeeper in recent memory. Two diving saves against Spain — both to his right, the second a remarkable instinctive foot save — sent Russia into the quarter-finals and produced scenes of national euphoria that are still replayed in highlight packages today.

Fabien Barthez — France (1998, 2002 & 2006) was a different kind of penalty specialist: a master of the pre-kick mind game, standing by one post to goad takers into hesitating and then punishing the mental lapse. His career World Cup penalty work spans three tournaments and includes moments that influenced how modern goalkeepers approach the psychological dimension of shootouts.

Gianluca Pagliuca — Italy (1994) was Italy’s first-choice goalkeeper through most of their run to the 1994 final, a tournament in which Italy overcame Nigeria in extra time and defeated Spain in open play en route to Pasadena. Pagliuca’s calmness and positioning made him one of the best penalty-reading goalkeepers of his generation, even if fortune did not ultimately favour his side in the final.

Gianluigi Buffon — Italy (2006) holds a unique position in this context: a goalkeeper so dominant in open play that his shootout record almost feels like a footnote. His 2006 World Cup campaign is widely regarded as one of the greatest individual goalkeeper performances in the tournament’s history, conceding just one non-penalty goal across seven matches. His command throughout the tournament — including a crucial extra-time save to deny Zidane’s header in the final before Italy won on penalties — was a constant feature of Italy’s triumphant run to the title in Berlin.

Legacy and Future of World Cup Penalty Shootout Goalkeeping

The art of saving penalties at a World Cup has evolved dramatically since Schumacher was reading takers on pure intuition in 1982. Today, preparations involve detailed psychological profiling, statistical tendency analysis, and deliberate disruption tactics — all of it designed to shift the margins of a lottery as far as possible in the goalkeeper’s favour.

What this list reveals, above all, is that the most penalties saved World Cup goalkeeper records cluster around a specific type of individual: composed, cerebral, and capable of performing their best under the sport’s most unforgiving pressure. Physical talent is a prerequisite. Mental architecture is the differentiator.

Looking ahead, Emiliano Martínez is the obvious candidate to challenge the all-time records if Argentina continue to reach shootouts at future World Cups. Dominik Livaković’s Qatar performances suggest Croatia’s production line of shootout specialists has not yet run dry. And a new generation of analytically prepared goalkeepers — raised on detailed pre-match dossiers and psychological coaching — will push the boundaries of what is possible from twelve yards.

One thing is certain: the World Cup penalty shootout will never lack for drama. And as long as it exists, goalkeepers who can stand in that moment and refuse to be beaten will be elevated to a different kind of fame.