
The World Cup 2026 Golden Glove is the award given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. While key stats like saves and clean sheets come into it, the award is decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group.
This award started at the 1994 World Cup in the USA, when it was known as the Lev Yashin Award. It stuck with this name until 2006, when the current name and format took place. In this article, I’ll cover the award format in detail, highlight the odds for the 2026 award, and recommend the best sites for your predictions.
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The Golden Glove is the award that will be given to the best goalkeeper throughout the FIFA 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The award is determined by a committee decision of key members of the FIFA Technical Study Group, making it partly subjective.
While stats are considered, notably clean sheets and saves, so are other performance indicators. Command of the box and a keeper’s passing ability are two elements that particularly tend to catch the Study Group’s eye.
The award will be handed out to the best goalkeeper on the field following the concussion of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19, 2026.
Here are the key facts:
| 🏆 Award: | FIFA World Cup Golden Glove 2026 |
| 🥇 Tournament: | FIFA World Cup 2026 |
| ⚽ Sport: | Soccer |
| 🧤 Position: | Goalkeeper |
| 🧑⚖ Deciding body: | FIFA Technical Study Group |
| 📈 Award criteria: | Committee decision |
| 🗓 Date: | July, 19, 2026 |
Now that you know what the award is and how it works, let’s turn our attention to some major upsides and a minor drawback when betting on World Cup 2026 Golden Glove odds.
Below is a list of the top World Cup 2026 Golden Glove odds. Additionally, I’ll discuss the top four players — one from each of the remaining squads — who are favored to win the award.
| Player | Team | Golden Ball Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Maignan | France | +170 |
| Unai Simon | Spain | +250 |
| Jordan Pickford | England | +350 |
| Emiliano Martinez | Argentina | +400 |
| Yassine Bounou | Morocco | +5000 |
| Orjan Nyland | Norway | +6500 |
| Thibaut Courtois | Belgium | +8000 |
| Gregor Kobel | Switzerland | +10000 |
France has won every World Cup match, and a big part of that is the nearly flawless play of Maignan.
Additionally, there was a penalty kick attempted against him against Norway, and he made the save.
The aggregate score of France throughout the World Cup is 16-2.
Spain is heading into a matchup against France, and this is where Simon will be truly challenged.
That’s right, Spain has only allowed 1 goal all World Cup long, which is simply absurd to think about.
If Spain can top France and keep Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé quiet, I don’t see how Simon could lose this award.
England’s defense has been less than stellar throughout this World Cup, and as a result, Pickford has allowed his fair share of goals.
That said, England’s attack has been so stellar that England hasn’t lost a match, and next up is Argentina and Lionel Messi.
Across six matches, Martinez has allowed 6 goals, including 5 over his last 3 matches.
For Martinez to win, I believe it would take back-to-back dominant shutout performances against England and whoever they’d play in the final.
| Polymarket (% Chance) | Kalshi (% Chance) | |
|---|---|---|
| Unai Simon | 28% | 30% |
| Mike Maignan | 23% | 20% |
| Emiliano Martinez | 15% | 15% |
The award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament was first created for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. It was then called the Lev Yashin Award, named after the legendary Soviet goalkeeper.
It became the Golden Glove Award in 1996, when it changed to the format that the award follows to this day. Here’s a list of the past winners, including their team’s finishing position:
| 🗓 Year | 🏆 Golden GLove winner | 🌍 Country (Team) | 🥇 Team position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Emi Martinez | Argentina | Winners |
| 2018 | Thibaut Courtois | Belgium | Third place |
| 2014 | Manual Neuer | Germany | Winners |
| 2010 | Iker Cassillas | Spain | Winners |
| 2006 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | Winners |
| 2002 | Oliver Kahn | Germany | Runner up |
| 1998 | Fabian Bartez | France | Winner |
| 1994 | Michel Preud’homme | Belgium | Round of 16 |
Now that you understand how the award works and who the favorites are, let’s take a look at where you can bet on it. At the three social FIFA World Cup sportsbooks, you can place social picks on the tournament for free using virtual currency instead of real money.
Optional Gold Coin purchases are available on these social sportsbooks, and you can redeem eligible Sweeps Coin winnings for prizes. Of course, prize redemptions are subject to a playthrough requirement, minimum balance threshold, and other conditions.
| ⚽ Social sportsbook | 🏆 Free welcome offer |
|---|---|
| Legendz | 500 GC + 3 SC |
| Thrillzz | 3,000 TC + 2 TS |
| Novig | 1,000 Novig Coins + 5 Novig Cash |
Firstly, there is Legendz, where you can use your Gold Coins (GC) and Sweeps Coins (SC) to place social picks on 2026 World Cup matches and player futures, including the best goalkeeper award.
Additionally, you can also play a massive selection of casino-style games in between games throughout the tournament.
To create an account, you must be a US resident aged 18 years or older. However, the site is currently prohibited in California, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, and Washington.
Novig is a peer-to-peer social sportsbook where you can bet on World Cup games using Novig Coins or Novig Cash, with the latter being the promotional sweepstakes tokens.
The social sportsbook interface is extremely detailed, and you can track your wagers using an impressive real-time stats tracker.
You must be located in the US and aged 21+ to use this social betting site.
However, it is prohibited in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Washington.
If you’re looking for an alternative, you can find World Cup prediction markets on Kalshi. This CFTC-regulated financial exchange allows you to buy and sell Yes/No event contracts for a range of outcomes related to the World Cup, including the Golden Glove.
For example, if market opinion was that Alisson Becker had a 20% chance of winning the award, “Yes” event contracts on his prediction market would trade at roughly $0.20 each.
Kalshi allows you to buy and sell event contracts, meaning that you need an equal counterpart for the trade to go through. As a result, Kalshi doesn’t influence the probabilities, and instead charges trading fees.
This means that the contract prices and market probabilities are 100% fair and accurate.
However, prediction markets are risky, and require careful consideration.
Sportzino is a social sportsbook with real money prizes and has hundreds of World Cup picks available.
While I didn’t see a pick for the Golden Glove, I am expecting the market to open up soon as the social sportsbook also has similar markets for the top goal scorer.
Once it opens up, it will probably list Emiliano Martínez (Argentina) and Unai Simón (Spain) as the favorites to win this year, and especially since neither of their respective nations has lost many goals thus far.
If you haven’t signed up to Sportzino, creating a new account gets you up to 170,000 GC + 7 SC without making a purchase.
In conclusion, the FIFA World Cup Golden Glove Award is the accolade given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. As you have seen, Brazil’s Allisson Becker and current holder Emi Martínez are among the favorites for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
You can place free social bets on the award using virtual currency at any of the three social sportsbooks I’ve recommended. Alternatively you can also buy and trade event contracts on the outcome at prediction market sites like Kalshi.
To register for free, just follow the relevant banner or link on this page.
Unai Simon (Spain) is leading the pack followed by Mike Maignan (France) and Emiliano Martinez (Argentina). Of course, when it comes to who will win the best keeper at the World Cup — sweepstakes sportsbook picks are often changing until the very end.
The 2022 Golden Glove winner was Emi Martinez of Argentina. He helped guide his country to the title at the Qatar World Cup.
The Golden Glove is awarded to the best goalkeeper at the World Cup. It started in 1994, when it was known as the Lev Yashin award.