Who will win the Golden Gloves?

Collected Photo

The Golden Gloves are the award given to the best goalkeeper at the World Cup. Goalkeepers are in the running for this award based on their key saves in knockout matches and their outstanding performances in the final moments of the tournament.

The Golden Glove trophy, awarded to the best goalkeeper at the FIFA World Cup, may look like a gold glove, but it is not actually made of pure gold. The Golden Glove is made of brass or copper and is plated with gold.

These trophies are essentially commemorative trophies, so they do not have a specific market value or saleable value commercially. However, considering the structure and materials, the actual material value of the trophy is not very high, but its historical and emotional value is invaluable.

Mike Minyan was the favourite for the award before the France-Spain semi-final. Now, after Spain’s 2-0 win, Unai Simon has risen to become the new favourite, while Minyan’s price has dropped. Simon has played very well in this World Cup, conceding just one goal in seven matches so far.

On Tuesday, Simeone kept his sixth clean sheet at the World Cup, the most by a goalkeeper in any tournament. Spain’s six clean sheets in the tournament also set a new record for the most clean sheets in a single World Cup.

Spain’s 2-1 win over Belgium in the quarter-finals ended Simeone’s World Cup clean sheet, which lasted 649 minutes, the longest in World Cup history. As for Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez, he won the Golden Glove in 2022, but he and Argentina’s defence conceded two goals against newcomers Cape Verde in the round of 32, then two more against Egypt in the round of 16 and one against Switzerland in the quarter-finals.

Martinez and Argentina face England in the semi-finals on Wednesday. In four of the last five World Cups, the winner of the award has come from the defending champion’s country. Until then, the race for the Golden Gloves looks set to be fierce.

However, Unai Simeone, a 29-year-old 6-foot-3-inch goalkeeper for Atletico Bilbao in Spain, is far ahead in this race.