Goakeeper is the position in women’s football that has improved the most rapidly in recent years, with players reaping the rewards of the professional era by training with specialist coaches to unlock the potential and ability that was there all along.
These days, young talents have had thousands upon thousands of hours of practice with a dedicated coach, the like of which wasn’t the case even 15 years ago.
Thanks to that development, this summer’s World Cup is set to feature the widest group of top class goalkeepers the tournament has ever seen.
A handful of superstars between the sticks won’t be there. Christiane Endler has been consistently world class for a number of years, but her Chile team were stunned by Haiti in the final set of qualifying playoffs, highlighting the growing depth in international football. Barcelona’s Sandra Panos is also absent from the Spain squad amid ongoing issues between the players and federation.
But even a couple of major absences don’t dampen the quality of the goalkeepers on display in Australia and New Zealand over the next few weeks.
Country: Spain
Club: Real Madrid
Age: 23
Although Spain have been somewhat hamstrung by the avoidable absence of a number of key players since Euro 2022 – only some of which have returned for the World Cup – it has at least given a number of younger emerging talents the opportunity to get international game time.
Real Madrid’s Misa Rodriguez is one such player who has managed to thrive in the otherwise troubling circumstances and this World Cup has the potential to a breakout tournament for her on the biggest stage.
Country: China
Club: Wuhan Jianghan University
Age: 25
China’s Zhu Yu comes into the World Cup off the back of an 2022 Asian Cup that saw her walk away as the tournament’s best goalkeeper, making crucial saves in the quarter-final and semi-final.
At six feet tall and inspired by Manchester City’s Ederson, she is an imposing physical figure. This is her World Cup debut, but Zhu has already been battle hardened by China’s disappointing Olympics in 2021.
Country: Nigeria
Club: Paris FC
Age: 22
Chiamaka Nnadozie was only 18 when she helped Nigeria reach the knockout stages of the last World Cup. Now, at 22, she is back again with a Super Falcons team with the ability to cause an upset.
The youngster has been playing at a decent club level with Paris FC, who have finished third in France’s Division 1 behind domestic giants Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain in each of the last two seasons.
Country: Germany
Club: Chelsea
Age: 32
Another time, another place, Ann-Katrin Berger might have had more than just a handful of international caps. She has battled thyroid cancer twice in her career, most recently last summer, yet was still a Best FIFA Goalkeeper runner-up for both 2021 and 2022 due to her form with Chelsea.
Despite that, she won’t actually be a starter here, which speaks to Germany’s incredible depth.
Country: Netherlands
Club: Aston Villa
Age: 23
Ahead of Euro 2022, Daphne van Domselaar was a virtual unknown outside domestic Dutch football. But injury to veteran starter Sari van Veenendal in her country’s opening game thrust her into the limelight.
An oustanding shot stopper, Van Domselaar finished that tournament with her reputation massively enhanced and as the firm Netherlands number one. Aston Villa did well to lock her in before the World Cup takes her higher.
Country: USA
Club: Chicago Red Stars
Age: 35
Alyssa Naeher had big gloves to fill and stiff competition to fend off when she took over from longstanding United States number one Hope Solo, but she more than proved herself during the last World Cup in 2019.
The Chicago Red Stars stopper brings a calmness and reliability to the American defensive unit and is more than capable of coming up big in key moments – as shown when she saved a late semi-final four years ago.
Country: France
Club: Juventus
Age: 31
France’s Pauline Peyraud-Magnin might be considered a late bloomer. Although always a dependable stopper, she has had to wait patiently for her career to fully take off. But now it has.
Peyraud-Magnin bounced around a number of clubs in France, before venturing abroad. She has found her feet at Juventus since 2021, similarly becoming France’s established number over the same period.
Country: Canada
Club: San Diego Wave
Age: 28
Kailen Sheridan is a goalkeeper hitting her prime. With veterans Erin McLeod and Stephanie Labbe both retiring within a year of each other, Canada needed someone new to pick up the mantle and they found her.
This is her first global tournament as number one, but Sheridan is well prepared for it as the reigning NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year from 2022. Canada don’t concede many and she is a major reason why.
Country: Germany
Club: Wolfsburg
Age: 28
Germany have long had outstanding goalkeepers – think back to the likes of Nadine Angerer and Silke Rottenberg. Merle Frohms is no exception to that storied history between the posts.
After leaving Wolfsburg in 2018 in search of game time, Frohms earned herself a move back in 2022, having also established herself as Germany number one in a crowded field.
Country: England
Club: Manchester United
Age: 30
There is no reason to doubt the status of the reigning Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper going into this World Cup, with Mary Earps absolutely crucial to England’s chances of lifting the trophy.
Earps is an elite shot stopper, but her mental sharpness, focus and communication make her really stand out. Mistakes are rare, which is an invaluable quality when goalkeepers can often be spectators for large portions of games before being called into decisive action.
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