Most Valuable Goalkeepers at the 2026 World Cup

We’re just a few days away from the start of the 2026 World Cup. The squads are finalised – before the tournament begins, we want to take a closer look at them.

Today, we’ll be looking at the five most valuable goalkeepers at the World Cup this year, according to Transfermarkt’s sophisticated algorithm.

As Transfermarkt only offers approximate market values, we won’t be listing them here – we’ll just list the entries in the order in which they landed on the site.

Senne Lammens

What a signing Senne Lammens has been for Manchester United. Initially brought in as a backup option, Andre Onana’s cataclysmic start to the season meant that the young Belgian had to be thrown in at the deep end.

Thankfully, he didn’t just float – he immediately began swimming lengths. Almost as soon as he made his United debut, it was quickly evident that he was their best ‘keeper.

At just 23 years of age, Lammens still has plenty of developing to do. Goalkeepers often mature later than outfield players do – who knows how good he’ll be in six or seven years time?

Joan Garcia

Initially, this came as a shock to us. How could Joan Garcia – Spain’s third-choice goalkeeper – have a higher market value than both David Raya and Unai Simon? After we did a bit of digging, things started to make sense.

First of all, Simon has led a disappointing campaign, keeping just six clean sheets in 37 games. Raya might be the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment, but at 30 years of age, he isn’t going to get any better. Garcia, meanwhile, is five years younger than Arsenal’s shot-stopper.

Additionally, Raya’s contract is due to expire in two years, while Garcia is tied down with Barcelona until 2031. On top of this, he’s also had an excellent season, keeping 15 clean sheets in 30 appearances.

Gregor Kobel

Gregor Kobel has been Borussia Dortmund’s number one for several seasons now – one might argue that, on an individual level, the 2025/26 season was his best campaign to date.

While the Yellow and Blacks finished a distant second behind Bayern Munich, Kobel still managed to keep an impressive 15 clean sheets over the course of 34 appearances.

Still, it is interesting to us that Transfermarkt gave Kobel a higher market value than someone like David Raya, for example. He’s 28 years of age and will come to the end of his current deal in 2028 – Kobel is certainly an excellent ‘keeper, but is he better than Raya? We’re not so sure.

Bart Verbruggen

In Bart Verbruggen, we can see how Transfermarkt’s algorithm works. Clearly, the site seems to favour younger players, rather than those with proven experience.

With that being said, Verbruggen is an excellent goalkeeper with bundles of potential in the modern game. Like Lammens, he is also 23 years of age, but has managed to become a first-choice option at Brighton in spite of this.

Keeping ten clean sheets in 38 games, Verbruggen has proven to be an excellent last line of defence for Brighton this season – his efforts played a key role in securing European football next season.

Diogo Costa

Seeing Diogo Costa at the top of this list really shouldn’t come as a surprise. He is absolutely phenomenal between the sticks; we’re expecting him to make his mark at the World Cup this year.

At 26 years of age, he is still relatively young for a goalkeeper. An instrumental component of Porto’s sensational title-winning campaign, he only conceded 15 goals in 33 games.

This record, in of itself, makes him worthy of the title of the World Cup’s most valuable goalkeeper. With 21 clean sheets to his name in 2025/26, no other goalkeeper in the world has had such a successful campaign this year.