Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Top FIFA World Cup Saves of All Time

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, France would have won the trophy had Buffon not saved that incredible header from Zidane

Recently, we penned down an article about the best FIFA World Cup goals. Therefore, we thought; why not draft an article about the best saves in the history of the FIFA World Cup? In this article, we have listed some of the top saves made by goalkeepers in the prestigious tournament. Their saves shaped the games and the tournament and therefore, those saves and those goalkeepers deserve a shout-out.

Tim Howard’s 16 saves against Belgium

In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Tim Howard earned the record of most saves in a FIFA World Cup football match. To earn that record, he saved 16 shots from the Belgian side. In fact, the match remained level for around 93 minutes. Finally, in the 93rd minute and 105th minute, De Bruyne and Romelu broke the wall of Howard, respectively. That day, in the eyes of many, Howard became a hero.

Buffon saves Italy

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, both Italy and France had scored one goal against each other. However, in the 104th minute, Zidane tried to score a goal via a header. The save was tough but an incredible Buffon did the impossible and kept Italy in the game till the 120th minute. Italy won the tournament on penalties. To some extent, it can be said that it was Buffon who helped Italy win that day.

Oliver Kahn’s overstretched save

Oliver Kahn is one of the legendary goalkeepers in the world and therefore, in his career, Kahn made several brilliant impossible saves. However, the way he saved a shot from Landon in the 2002 FIFA World Cup against the USA is worth a read. Landon shot the ball, which was far away from Kahn.Kahn did not leave it and stretched himself to the core. The tip of his finger reached for the ball and deflected it from entering the German net.

Last but not the least, Arjen Robben’s unsuccessful attempt

In the ultimate game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Andres Iniesta stole the show and helped Spain pick up the trophy. However, things could have been very different had Robben scored that one-on-one goal versus Casillas. Iker went all out and stopped Arjen’s goal from going in; undoubtedly one of the legendary saves in the tournament’s long history.