Many legendary goalkeepers have lit up the FIFA World Cup™, but three stand above the rest on one count. Fabien Barthez, Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas share the tournament record for conceding the fewest goals for a triumphant team: just two.
Fabien Barthez ‒ France 1998
The bald-headed goalkeeper was famed for having his head kissed by defender Laurent Blanc before each game. It proved a good-luck charm as Barthez’s heroics helped France win the coveted trophy for the first time.
In the group stage, Barthez conceded a penalty from Denmark’s Michael Laudrup before France secured a 2-1 victory to progress to the knockout phase. Then in the semi-finals, Barthez could only look on as Croatia stunned France just 25 seconds after the restart thanks to a neat finish from Davor Suker. Lilian Thuram, who had played Suker onside, atoned for his error by scoring twice to ensure progress to the final.
Even without the suspended Blanc, who continued the tradition of kissing the keeper’s head prior to the final, Barthez kept Ronaldo and Co at bay as France shut out the mighty Brazil with a 3-0 victory.
Gigi Buffon ‒ Germany 2006
Barthez’s efforts were then matched by Buffon, who was at the peak of his powers. Even more incredibly, neither of the two goals the Italy goalie conceded in the global finals were scored by opponents during open play.
Buffon let in just one in the run to the final, and there was absolutely nothing he could have done about it. During the group-stage match with USA, defender Cristian Zaccardo tried to clear the ball from his six-yard line but badly sliced his effort, which flew directly behind him and into the net.
In the final, Zinedine Zidane managed to score past Buffon with an audacious chipped penalty, which hit the crossbar and bounced just over the line. After the game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, Buffon ensured the game went to spot-kicks after expertly blocking a powerful Zidane header in extratime. Italy went on to win the penalty shootout 5-3.
Iker Casillas ‒ South Africa 2010
The Real Madrid goalkeeper played a pivotal role in Spain conquering the sport by making a miraculous save against Netherlands winger Arjen Robben in the final. Casillas charged off his line to expertly block an effort by Robben with an outstretched boot in the second half.
Casillas had enhanced his reputation as one of the world’s greatest goalkeepers earlier in the tournament. He saved a penalty from Paraguay’s Oscar Cardozo when it was 0-0 in the quarter-finals, before Spain went on to win 1-0. With that stop, Casillas became the first goalkeeper to save penalties in two editions of the World Cup, excluding shootouts.
Both goals that Casillas conceded came in the group stage. Switzerland secured a shock 1-0 victory over the UEFA EURO 2008 holders thanks to a close-range finish from Gelson Fernandes after multiple ricochets in the Spain area. Against Chile, substitute Rodrigo Millar found the net with a deflected shot in a 2-1 loss to the eventual champions.
