Ballon d’Or 2026: 10 nominees revealed for the Best Goalkeeper award, including 3 Africans!

After the clubs and coaches, it is now the goalkeepers’ turn. France Football has revealed the 10 nominees for the Best Goalkeeper award for the 2025-26 season.

The shortlist features several world-class names, including Yassine Bounou, Thibaut Courtois, Emiliano Martínez, David Raya and Gregor Kobel. The performances taken into account cover the period from August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026, including both club competitions and major international tournaments such as the 2026 World Cup and AFCON.

Full list of the 10 nominated goalkeepers

Yassine Bounou - Morocco

Thibaut Courtois - Belgium

Joan García - Spain

Gregor Kobel - Germany

Emiliano Martínez - Argentina

Édouard Mendy - Senegal

David Raya - Spain

Matvey Safonov - Russia

Unai Simón - Spain

Vozinha - Cape Verde

Three African goalkeepers in contention

Africa will be strongly represented with three candidates: Morocco’s Yassine Bounou, Senegal’s Édouard Mendy and Cape Verde’s Vozinha. Bounou once again underlines his consistency at the highest level, having already featured among the nominees in the previous edition.

Defending champion Gianluigi Donnarumma, however, is absent from this new shortlist. The Italian goalkeeper won the Best Goalkeeper award in 2025.

Verdict on October 26 in London

The award criteria prioritize individual performances and decisive impact, followed by collective results and trophies, before class and fair play are taken into consideration. Each juror ranks three goalkeepers, awarding them 5, 3 and 1 points respectively. The winner will be revealed on Monday, October 26, 2026 in London during the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Read also : Ballon d'Or 2026: The 5 Nominees for Coach of the Season

Mahdi Zakaria LAZRI |

Editor

Football web writer creating digital sports content with a focus on news, analysis and stories that reflect passion, accuracy and objectivity.

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