Goalkeepers have been stealing the headlines at the 2026 World Cup.
Some goalies, who most had never heard of before this tournament, have been showcasing their skills with standout performances.
Teams like Spain, Uruguay and Ecuador have been stunned by keepers from very small nations.
But these goalies have stories that go beyond the pitch.
Many of whom have taken interesting paths to reach the pinnacle of soccer, here are a few of those fascinating stories.
You may remember the name Alireza Beiranvand from 2018, when he became the first goalkeeper to ever save a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty in the World Cup, a record that still stands to this day. But there is so much more to know about the Iranian netminder.
Beiranvand was born into a nomadic Kurdish tribe in 1992, and he began shepherding sheep at age three. He eventually discovered soccer and began his playing career as a striker, but that didn’t last long. Beiranvand became a goalkeeper at age 12 and moved to Tehran to pursue his soccer dreams.
While pursuing his dreams, he ran into some hiccups and was homeless for a period of time. To find his footing, he worked in a factory, at a car wash as a specialist SUV cleaner due to his six-foot-four height, at a pizzeria, and as a street cleaner.
Beiranvand landed his first professional contract in 2011 with Naft Tehran of the Persian Pro Gulf League. He’s spent the bulk of his playing career in Iran, with brief stops in Belgium and Portugal. But it’s in Iran that he’s won seven league titles, six with Persepolis and his last with his current club, Tractor.
Not only has Beiranvand gone from homelessness to an established goalkeeper, but he has also set some world records. The 33-year-old holds two Guinness World Records, the first for the longest throw (61.0026 metres) and the other for the longest dropkick (78.014 metres).
Curacao is the smallest country ever to feature at a World Cup, but after a draw against Ecuador, everyone is talking about its goalkeeper. Eloy Room set a World Cup record with a 15-save clean sheet to get Curacao its first point in a 0-0 tie. The most saves in a game to not require extra time.
Room nearly missed the tournament after being clubless following a 2025 departure from Belgian club Cercle Brugge. However, with a passion to get his nation to the World Cup, Room trained on his own to stay in shape for qualification.
“I train by myself with a personal trainer for gym work, and also on the field, I train with a goalkeeper coach,” Room told Goalkeeper.com. “It’s obviously easier when you train with a club, but I had a goal in mind: I want to go to the World Cup. If I have a goal for myself, then I really give my all for it.”
Room was actually born in the Netherlands, but opted to represent Curacao on the international level to connect with his island roots. And playing for Curacao has created plenty of success for him; he had another historic clean sheet back in 2019 at the Concacaf Gold Cup. Room made 13 saves to blank Honduras and give his nation a 1-0 victory for their first-ever tournament win.
The 37-year-old now plays for Miami FC of the USL and finds new ways to keep himself sharp. He plays a lot of padel, a racket sport that helps keep his reflexes and cardio top-notch.
Arguably, the most interesting part of Room’s background is a previous run-in with the legendary Lionel Messi. Argentina beat Curacao 7-0 in an international friendly back in 2023, and following the match, Room got Messi’s shirt from him. Messi even complimented Room, telling him he made some good saves in the defeat.
Well, if Messi was impressed in 2023, he must be loving Room’s success in 2026.
Entering the 2026 World Cup, Vozinha had around 50,000 followers on Instagram, but following a stunning draw with tournament-favourites Spain, he now sits at 15.6 million followers.
Vozinha made seven saves to shock Spain in a 0-0 tie that nobody could have predicted. And the result led everyone to learn just who the 40-year-old goalkeeper is.
His real name is Josimar Jose Evora Dias; his father chose the name Josimar to honour the former Brazilian right back. The nickname Vozinha means “granny” in Creole, and it’s a name he picked up as a child.
“In my area, the other boys were much older, and I’d always be playing with them in the street, getting kicked about a lot,” Vozinha said, per The Athletic. “That’s because I was very good with my feet, and I was competitive and rebellious; I didn’t like losing. I’d get knocked about a lot, and whenever I couldn’t get my own back with things like that, I’d go home in a rage, with a face like thunder, and they’d make fun of me, saying I was going off to complain to my grandparents.”
Vozinha was a late bloomer and didn’t begin his professional soccer career until his mid-20s. He started with the Angolan club Progresso, and has since made stops in Cyprus, Slovakia, Moldova and Portugal. He currently plays for Chaves in the Portuguese second league.
He now has the second-most caps all time for Cape Verde after a 2012 debut, but he nearly wasn’t at the World Cup. Vozinha had lost his starting job to the younger Bruno Varela in 2025, and he considered stepping away from international football.
“It was a very hard time,” Vozinha said, per Goalkeeper.com. “I was thinking of stopping with the national team. All my teammates talked to me; they encouraged me to stay because of the World Cup. I stayed because of that, because it was my dream, the dream of all of us.”
Varela’s poor play led to Vozinha regaining his spot between the pipes and got him to his shining moment against Spain. Now, everybody knows his name and just exactly who he is.
“We work in life to have moments like this,” Vozinha said, per The Athletic. “I am 40 now, but I was not a professional until I was 25. This is a reward for all this journey.
“I would tell 18-year-old Vozinha to be really proud of himself. He worked a lot. To be honest, I never dreamt of stuff like this when I was a kid, but after this game I can tell my younger version that it was all worth it.”
Having the last name Zidane comes with some lofty expectations in soccer, which is the case for Luca, son of French icon Zinedine. Luca has battled his way through the ranks to reach the World Cup, and does so representing Algeria, his paternal grandparents’ birthplace.
“We’ve lived in an Algerian culture since we were small,” Luca said, per The Athletic. “It’s an honour to play for Algeria. The final decision was mine, but I spoke with my family, my parents, my brothers, my grandfather. My father was happy; he knew it was something I wanted to do. To be able to play in a World Cup is a dream for any kid.”
Luca was raised in Madrid, Spain, since 2001, where his father played for Real Madrid. He instantly followed in his dad’s footsteps with his three brothers, but he was the only member of the family to choose the goalkeeper position.
The 28-year-old rose through Real Madrid’s youth ranks and spent time with the youth team, the B team and eventually a brief stint with the big club. During his tenure, his father became the coach of Madrid following his playing career, and Luca obviously reaped the benefits of that.
Luca was called upon to train with the senior club, along with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.
“At home he’s your father, but when you go to Valdebebas he’s just the coach,” Luca said.
“He could be a bit harder on you than on the other players, but it didn’t bother me. At that age, whoever is your coach, you have to work hard every day to get to the highest level possible.”
Luca eventually realized he had reached his ceiling with Madrid and moved on to look for opportunities with more playing time. He went on to Racing Santander, Rayo Vallecano, Eibar, and now he plays for Granada in Spain’s second division. Luca received the call for the Algerian national team while playing for Granada.
The second-generation star now has eight caps for Algeria and knows he has a lot to live up to with such a successful father.
“When you’re called Zidane, everything you do has more of an impact,” Luca said. “People are waiting for something bad to happen, so they can talk about it. But I’ve had to deal with it since I was small, so it’s natural for me. I’m always trying to improve every day, to be as good a goalkeeper as I can be.
“At the start, people see you more as someone’s son. But I’ve always tried to make my own path. I worked hard to improve every day. This is a crucial moment for my career, playing a World Cup, to show I can play at the very highest level. I feel ready for that.”
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