Who are the 15 worst goalkeepers of all time? 2023 global ranking

Praise and accolades for the best football players in the world are common. But have you ever wondered who the worst soccer players in the world are? This article will look at the top 15 worst goalkeepers globally.

A goalkeeper's position is regarded as one of the most critical roles. A good shot-stopper carries the team's hopes and must be proactive with precise interception skills and the ability to handle the ball. Who are the worst goalkeepers ever?

Who are the worst goalkeepers in the world in 2023?

Unfortunately, many football players can not match their more famous counterparts ranked as the world's greatest football players. However, critics of the worst players seem to underestimate or judge them too early. Here is a list of goalkeepers whose mistakes on the pitch have made them infamous worldwide.

15. Jordan Pickford

• Full name: Jordan Lee Pickford
• Date of birth: 7 March 1994
• Age: 29 years old (as of 2023)
• Nationality: British
• Height: 1.85 m
• Total appearances: 380

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Jordan Pickford is an English professional football goalkeeper who currently plays for Everton F.C. and the England national team. During the 2019-20 season, he struggled with form and made a number of mistakes. His record of four errors leading to goals was the highest of any Premier League keeper.

14. Rob Green

• Full name: Robert Paul Green
• Date of birth: 18 January 1980
• Age: 43 years old (as of 2023)
• Nationality: British
• Height: 1.87 m
• Total appearances: 658

Robert Green is a former English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs and the English national team. While he had a successful career, he is not generally considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world for a few reasons.

One reason is his inconsistency on the field. While Green had some impressive performances, he also had some high-profile mistakes that cost his team points and even important matches.

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13. Gunnar Nielsen

• Full name: Gunnar Nielsen
• Date of birth: 7 October 1986
• Age: 36 years old (as of 2023)
• Nationality: Faroese
• Height: 1.91 m
• Total appearances: 163

Gunnar Nielsen played for several clubs in Europe, including Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, and Motherwell. He often served as a backup goalkeeper, which limited his opportunities to showcase his abilities at the highest level. He could produce good performances but made the worst goalkeeper mistakes occasionally.

12. Stuart Taylor

• Full name: Stuart James Taylor
• Date of birth: 28 November 1980
• Age: 42 years old (as of 2023)
• Nationality: British
• Height: 1.98 m
• Total appearances: 95

Stuart Taylor is a former English professional goalkeeper who played for several clubs in England, including Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Southampton. While he had a long and successful career, he is not generally considered one of the greatest goalkeepers ever.

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During his career, Stuart Taylor was often a second or third-choice goalkeeper, which limited his opportunities to showcase his abilities at the highest level. This lack of regular playing time contributed to his perceived weaknesses as a goalkeeper.

11. Peter Enckelman

• Full name: Peter Mikael Enckelman
• Date of birth: 10 March 1977
• Age: 45 years old (as of 2023)
• Nationality: Finnish
• Height: 1.88 m
• Total appearances: 186

Peter Enckelman is a former Finnish professional goalkeeper who played for several clubs in England, including Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, and Cardiff City.

He is often remembered for a high-profile mistake during a match between Aston Villa and Birmingham City in 2002. In that match, a throw-in from a Birmingham City player bounced off Enckelman's body and went into the net, which led to Aston Villa conceding a goal.

10. Heurelho Gomes

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• Full name: Heurelho da Silva Gomes
• Date of birth: 15 February 1981
• Age: 41 (as of March 2022)
• Nationality: Brazilian
• Height: 1.91 m
• Total appearances: 557

Gomes had an impressive 60% clean-sheet ratio while playing in the UEFA League at the beginning of his career as a goalkeeper. However, his mistakes landed Tottenham in a series of defeats later on. His performance later improved when he moved to Watford. He left with a series of titles, a testament to his true talent and skill.

9. Stephen Bywater

• Full name: Stephen Michael Bywater
• Date of birth: 7 June 1981
• Age: 41 years old (as of 2023)
• Nationality: English
• Height: 1.89 m
• Total appearances: 437

Bywater is remembered for his role in the unfortunate 07/08 season at Derby County that ended with 20 goals and 89 conceded goals. His short stay at West Ham, where he only played six games, is also attributed to his mistakes at the goal.

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8. Fraser Digby

• Full name: Fraser Charles Digby
• Date of birth: 23 January 1967
• Age: 55 (as of March 2022)
• Nationality: English
• Height: 1.85 m
• Total appearances: 508

Fraser Digby is regarded as the worst goalkeeper in Premier League history. Out of 240 appearances at Swindon, Digby had a rate of 2.3 goals per game conceded. He is held responsible for the worst goalkeeper's mistake, with 65 goals conceded with a clean sheet of only four goals at Swindon.

7. Adam Bogdan

• Full name: Adam Bogdan
• Date of birth: 27 September 1987
• Age: 35 (as of March 2022)
• Nationality: Hungarian
• Height: 1.94 m
• Total appearances: 187

Adam Bogdan is regarded as one of the worst goalkeepers in Liverpool. He famously admitted responsibility for the club's 3-0 loss in an opening match against Watford. He currently plays as a goalkeeper for the Hungarian club Ferencváros.

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6. Massimo Taibi

• Full name: Massimo Taibi
• Date of birth: 18 February 1970
• Age: 40 (as of March 2022)
• Nationality: Italian
• Height: 1.90 m
• Total appearances: 569

Massimo is an Italian goalkeeper known for having one of the shortest Premier League careers. He only played in 4 matches at the club, and one match against Chelsea landed him in a hot mess. Taibi's 5-0 error took a comical turn with a running joke, "What time is it? Oh, it's five past Taibi."

5. Roy Carroll

• Full name: Roy Eric Carroll
• Date of birth: 30 September 1977
• Age: 45 (as of March 2022)
• Nationality: Irish
• Height: 1.89 m
• Total appearances: 648

Roy Carroll's Premier League career at Manchester United, Tottenham, and West Ham was marked by success and failure as a goalkeeper in equal measure.

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He played 45 times for Northern Ireland at the full international level between 1997 and 2017 and was a squad member for UEFA Euro 2016. Roy came out to share his experience on the field and struggles with clinical depression and alcoholism.

4. Manuel Almunia

• Full name: Manuel Almunia Rivero
• Date of birth: 19 May 1977
• Age: 45 (as of March 2022)
• Nationality: Spanish
• Height: 1.91 m
• Total appearances: 3

Almunia is regarded as one of the worst Premier League goalkeepers after he lost several Arsenal points to Liverpool, FC Porto, Tottenham and Birmingham. Almunia joined Watford and stayed for two years before retiring on medical advice.

3. Artur Boruc

• Full name: Artur Boruc
• Date of birth: 20 February 1980
• Age: 42 (as of March 2022)
• Nationality: Polish
• Height: 1.93 m
• Total appearances: 524

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Boruc is one of the Polish's best shot-stoppers in the UEFA Europa League, Ekstraklasa and the Premier League. However, his character on the pitch made him one of the most hated football players in the world and the worst goalkeeper in Europe at the time. Speaking on his character that cost him big club transfers, he said,

"I could've signed for one of the big clubs, but because of my carelessness, arrogance and greed at points of my life, nothing happened.

2. Jens Lehmann

• Full name: Jens Lehmann
• Date of birth: 10 November 1969
• Age: 53 (as of March 2022)
• Nationality: German
• Height: 1.9 m
• Total appearances: 78

Was Jens Lehmann a good keeper? Lehmann was one of the best goalkeepers to play at Arsenal. However, his antics and indiscipline made him quite infamous. He is undoubtedly one of the worst goalkeepers in Premier League history. He is known for taking a pee break behind his goalpost during a match with millions watching.

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1. Harald Schumacher

• Full name: Harald Anton Schumacher
• Date of birth: 6 March 1954
• Age: 68 (as of March 2022)
• Nationality: German
• Height: 1.86 m
• Total appearances: 689

Who is the worst goalkeeper of all time? An unfortunate violent incident that overshadowed Harald's successful career was during the 1982 world cup left his opponent, Patrick Battiston, unconscious and with a broken vertebra. Despite his achievements, Schumacher was viewed as the world's most hated football player of all time.

Summary list of the worst goalkeepers in the world

1. Harald Schumacher
2. Jens Lehmann
3. Artur Boruc
4. Manuel Almunia
5. Roy Carroll
6. Massimo Taibi
7. Adam Bogdan
8. Fraser Digby
9. Stephen Bywater
10. Heurelho Gomes
11. Peter Enckelman
12. Stuart Taylor
13. Gunnar Nielsen
14. Rob Green
15. Jordan Pickford

Who is the worst goalkeeper in the Premier League 2023?

Fraser Forster, Illan Meslier, and Aaron Ramsdale are among the Premier League goalkeepers with the lowest save success rate.

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Who is the worst goalkeeper in the World Cup?

Goalkeepers such as Danny Ward, Alfred Gomis, Oliver Christensen, and Marko Dmitrovi have been ranked the worst in the World Cup.

Which are the worst goalkeeper gloves?

The quality of goalkeeper gloves can vary based on factors such as the brand, the materials used, and the design. It is up to individual goalkeepers to determine which gloves work best for them based on their playing style, preferences, and the conditions in which they play. Goalkeepers often rely on gloves that offer good grip, durability, and protection for their hands while allowing for comfortable movement and flexibility.

It is evident that not all players regarded as the worst goalkeepers play poorly; a nurturing and positive environment has a part to play. This can be seen in several players' profiles, as mentioned above.

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Sportsbrief recently published an article on the most underrated football players in history. Football is a sport that is highly dependent on teamwork, and while some players receive the limelight for their skills and achievements on the field, others often go unnoticed.

Who are these players that may have received a different level of attention than others, but their impact on the sport must be noticed? Read on to find out more here.