Women’s soccer has been growing in popularity around the world, with more and more women taking up the sport at both amateur and professional levels.
One position that has garnered particular attention in recent years is that of the goalkeeper.
The role of a goalkeeper is crucial to the success of any team, and female football goalkeepers have shown time and time again that they are just as capable of making incredible saves and leading their teams to victory as their male counterparts.
The 2015 and 2019 FIFA women’s World Cup in Canada and France, respectively, exhibited improvements in women’s soccer vis-à-vis goalkeeping.
Now, let us explore some of the best female football goalkeepers in the world, who have proven their skills and earned their place among the elite in women’s soccer.
1. Mary Earps
Country: England
Club: Manchester United
The Three Lionesses won the women’s Euro competition in 2022, and it was not in isolation of Maru Earps in goal for the hosts.
Apart from being a great goalie, she is also considered to be one of the best female soccer players in the world.
In six games in the competition, she conceded twice and kept four clean sheets, and at age 29, she has a lot to still offer England, especially at the World Cup in 2023.
She had the joint highest clean sheets at the last Euros with four sheets alongside Germany.
What makes Earps one of the best female goalkeepers in the world is her decision-making. She is able to quickly assess the situation and make split-second decisions.
2. Ann-Katrin Berger
Country: Germany
Club: Chelsea
Katrin Berger was part of the nominees for the Best Awards in 2021 alongside Christiane Endler.
She was with Germany as they rode to the UEFA Women’s Euros final, where Germany lost to England.
Before that, she had led Chelsea Women’s team to back-to-back League and Cup double, keeping her consistency in between the sticks.
Katrin-Berger is comfortable with the ball at their feet and can initiate attacks with their distribution.
3. Christiane Endler (Lyon)
Country: Chile
Club: Lyon
Endler was the previous winner of the FIFA Best Awards for the women’s goalkeeper and was hoping to win it back-to-back after lifting the title for the 2021 edition.
Endler’s stock rose during the 2019 world cup despite Chile’s uninspiring display.
She went from the world cup sensation to helping PSG dethrone Lyon in the French Women’s League before joining Lyon, where she won the Ligue again and with the cleanest sheets.
Endler also went on to become the first Chilean to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Endler is a tall and strong goalkeeper, who use her size physical presence her advantage in the penalty box.
4. Manuela Zinsberger
Country: Austria
Club: Arsenal Women
Zinsberger was incredible for the Gunners last season, winning the golden glove even though they finished second behind Chelsea with a single point.
Halfway into the new season, she’s already recorded more than ten clean sheets, looking to better the 13 she kept last season.
Manuela Zinsberger has faced some of the best strikers in women’s football and came out on top.
5. Merle Frohms
Country: Germany
Club: Wolfsburg
Merle Frohms was also part of the German side that finished second at the Euro championships last year.
She has been able to move around in the Fraulen Bundesliga before joining the Wolfsburg team.
Frohms has been important to Wolfsburg’s deeds in the Women’s Bundesliga, helping the team to the league title.
She’s one of the best women’s goalkeepers with her feet and has steadily progressed from the German national youth teams to the senior team.
6. Kailen Sheridan
Country: Canada
Club: San Diego Wave
Despite being a newly formed club in the NWSL, San Diego Wave made some waves with their goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan conceding just seventeen as they reached the NWSL playoffs.
After winning it last season, she became the first Canadian to win the NWSL Golden glove and went on to the 2022 CONCACAF Championship to concede just a single goal to win the Golden glove.
7. Ellie Roebuck
Country: England
Club: Manchester City Women
England are one of the best women’s national soccer teams in the world and have produced some of top female football goalkeepers.
EllieRoebuck has always been a precocious talent, having debuted for Manchester City as a sixteen-year-old.
At 23 years old, she has won the WSL, FA Cup, and League Cup at the club.
Last season she played the second part of the WSL for Manchester City after returning from injury to help them secure the champions league.
She also recorded 83.3% shot saved from her games last season with three goals conceded.
Furthermore, Roebuck is also an excellent distributor of the ball, with the ability to quickly and accurately distribute the ball to her teammates.
8. Adrianna Franch
Country: USA
Club: Kansas City
Adrianna Franch is one of the best US goalkeepers and won the NWSL best goalkeeper twice in 2017 and 2018.
French helped Kansas City reach their first NWSL Playoffs final by making seven saves in the NWSL semifinal match against OL Reign as Kansas City emerged winners above the previous NWSL Shield winners.
Although she plays outside Europe for Kansas City, the National Women’s Soccer League is one of the best women’s football leagues.
Franch is a highly athletic goalkeeper, possessing exceptional agility, quick reflexes, and excellent footwork.
9. Alyssa Naeher
Country: USA
Club: Chicago Red Stars
Two-time World Cup winner and 35-year-old veteran Alyssa Naeher managed to sneak into the list, and she’s on track to her third consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup with the Australia/New Zealand edition in 2023.
She is expected to be the team’s number choice and possibly add to her laurels with the US national women’s soccer team.
Nasher is vocal goalkeeper who controls her defense well and makes sure her team was in the right position to defend against their opponents.
10. Sandra Paños García-Villamil
Country: Spain
Club: Barcelona.
Barcelona’s top choice goalkeeper Sandra Paños Garcia-Villamil also makes a list with her performances for the Barcelona femenina that went unbeaten in La Liga last season.
She has won three La Liga titles, one UEFA Women’s Champions League, and
Five consecutive the Copa De La Reina. She also has a record number of Zamora Trophies, with four.
The trophy is given to goalkeepers who finish the season with the least goals conceded.
Sandra Paños is known for her exceptional reflexes and ability to make crucial saves, which helped her team to win several important matches.
Honorable Mentions
there are other goalkeepers who fit into the category and have been doing fine.
Some of them include Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, who is in the French League with Paris FC; she also showed what she is capable of during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Pauline Peyraud-Magnin is also a goalkeeper who deserves mention; the 31-year-old has an enviable CV that has seen her play for teams including Arsenal, Lyon, Marseille, and Atletico Madrid.
She was with the France women’s soccer team at Euro 2022, helping the team reach the semifinals, the first time they will do so in their history at any competition.
Finally, Almuth Schult may not be the most popular goalkeeper in women’s football, but she’s definitely one of the most decorated women’s goalkeepers.
She spent quite a lengthy period of her time at German giants Wolfsburg before moving to the US recently.
Talk about leaving when the ovation is loudest; Schult left Wolfsburg last year after winning her fourth Bundesliga title.
Beyond winning the Bundesliga title four times, she also won the UEFA women’s Champions League with Wolfsburg.
