The Golden Glove is the World Cup's specialist award, because it honours the goalkeeper who shapes the tournament most clearly. It is not only about clean sheets. It is about saves, command, nerve and big-match influence.
This guide covers the full men's winners history, the main records, and the goalkeepers most likely to push into the 2026 conversation.
Quick Answer
No goalkeeper has won the men's World Cup Golden Glove twice. The current holder is Emiliano Martinez, who took the award in 2022 after helping Argentina win the tournament.
What Is the Golden Glove
The award goes to the best goalkeeper at the FIFA World Cup finals. FIFA's own award history notes that the men's best-goalkeeper prize started at USA 1994 and later became known as the adidas Golden Glove.
The winner is chosen for overall tournament impact, not simply for finishing with the most clean sheets. That is why big saves in knockout football often matter more than easy shutouts in the group stage.
In simple terms, the Golden Glove usually goes to the keeper who combines level, leadership and decisive moments under the most pressure.
All-Time Golden Glove Winners
| Year | Tournament | Winner | Country | Goals or Stat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | United States | Michel Preud'homme | Belgium | Tournament best goalkeeper |
| 1998 | France | Fabien Barthez | France | Tournament best goalkeeper |
| 2002 | Korea/Japan | Oliver Kahn | Germany | Tournament best goalkeeper |
| 2006 | Germany | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | Tournament best goalkeeper |
| 2010 | South Africa | Iker Casillas | Spain | Tournament best goalkeeper |
| 2014 | Brazil | Manuel Neuer | Germany | Tournament best goalkeeper |
| 2018 | Russia | Thibaut Courtois | Belgium | Tournament best goalkeeper |
| 2022 | Qatar | Emiliano Martinez | Argentina | Tournament best goalkeeper |
Records and Notable Facts
Most wins by one player
No goalkeeper has won the men's World Cup Golden Glove twice. That makes the award unusually open compared with other World Cup honours, because every edition has produced a new name on the trophy.
It also means the 2026 winner will either continue that pattern or become the first man to take the prize for a second time.
Youngest and oldest winners
By comparing the official winners list with the ages of those goalkeepers during their tournaments, the list points to Michel Preud'homme as the youngest winner and Emiliano Martinez as the oldest. That spread shows how the award can go to either a goalkeeper reaching his peak or one arriving later through tournament experience.
This is an inference from the official winners list and the players' tournament ages.
Countries with most wins
Belgium and Germany currently share the lead with two men's winners each. Belgium has Michel Preud'homme and Thibaut Courtois, while Germany has Oliver Kahn and Manuel Neuer.
That list tells a simple story: countries with long goalkeeper traditions usually stay close to the front of this award history.
World Cup 2026 Contenders
Gianluigi Donnarumma starts high in the 2026 discussion after winning The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper 2025, while Emiliano Martinez carries the weight of being the reigning World Cup Golden Glove winner. Yassine Bounou and Mike Maignan also have serious cases because they combine elite shot-stopping with teams capable of reaching the knockout rounds.
The decisive factor will still be tournament path. Goalkeepers usually need at least one defining knockout performance to turn a good World Cup into a Golden Glove-winning one.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is FIFA's award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament, selected on overall performance rather than clean sheets alone.
Emiliano Martinez won the award for Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
No. Every men's World Cup Golden Glove winner has been a different goalkeeper so far.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Emiliano Martinez, Yassine Bounou and Mike Maignan are among the clearest early contenders.
Conclusion
The Golden Glove winners list is shorter than many World Cup honours, but it is one of the hardest to fake. Every name on it carried a team through pressure matches when one mistake could have ended the run.
That is why the 2026 race already feels strong. The next winner will join a list built almost entirely on big saves and bigger moments.