Want to see who has made the most saves at the 2026 World Cup so far? Check the latest stats below.
It’s what the goalkeeper’s there for. The last line of defence. Saves are what keep teams in games and win matches. Here’s who is leading the way at World Cup 2026.
What counts as a save?
A save is recorded when a goalkeeper prevents a shot on target from becoming a goal.
For a save to count, a shot must be heading into the net if not stopped by a goalkeeper. Saves can be made with any part of the body and include catches, parries and blocks from both open play and set-pieces.
Shots that miss the target, hit the woodwork without goalkeeper involvement or are blocked by an outfield player do not count as saves.
Save totals are often influenced by the strength of a team’s defence. Goalkeepers facing a high volume of shots generally have more opportunities to record saves than those playing behind dominant teams.
Other goalkeeping stats to consider
Save percentage
Save percentage measures the proportion of shots on target that a goalkeeper prevents from becoming goals.
While total saves rewards volume, save percentage provides a better indication of efficiency, highlighting goalkeepers who stop a high proportion of the shots they face.
Clean sheets
A clean sheet is awarded when a goalkeeper plays the full match without conceding a goal.
Although team defensive performance plays a major role, clean sheets remain one of the most widely used measures of goalkeeping success.
Who made the most saves at the 2022 World Cup?
Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic finished the 2022 World Cup with the most saves, recording 25 across the tournament as Croatia reached the semi-finals and eventually finished third.
Livakovic’s performances were crucial to Croatia’s run, particularly in the knockout rounds, where he starred against Japan and Brazil. According to Opta’s tournament review, he also prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper at Qatar 2022.
The top of the leaderboard was dominated by goalkeepers whose teams spent long periods under pressure. Poland’s Wojciech Szczesny finished second with 23 saves, while Netherlands stopper Andries Noppert ranked third with 18.
Table to be inserted automatically
H2: Who has made the most saves in a single World Cup tournament?
Producing a definitive all-time World Cup saves leaderboard is difficult because detailed shot and save data is unavailable for many of the tournament’s earliest editions.
Comprehensive goalkeeper statistics only became widely available in the modern era, meaning direct comparisons between contemporary goalkeepers and legends from previous generations are often impossible.
What can be said with confidence is that Livakovic’s 25 saves at the 2022 World Cup ranks among the highest tournament totals recorded in the modern data era. His performances helped Croatia reach the final four despite facing significantly more shots than many of the tournament favourites.
As historical event data continues to improve, a more complete all-time ranking may become available. For now, comparisons are generally limited to tournaments where reliable save records exist.