Norway’s Nyland vs. England as an unemployed player, Vozinha from bullies to Leo Messi: the World Cup’s star goalkeepers
Milan, 11 July 2026 – The headlines these days are often about the strikers, Messi a Mbappé, from Haaland to Kane. But the World Cup story has always been written through the stories of goalkeepers. How could we forget the Honduran? Arzu protagonist in 1982 and Thomas N’Kono that dragged Cameroon to Spain and Italy ’90. Unknowns who became heroes from nowhere. It was a journey he hoped to experience also Seine Lammens, the Belgian goalkeeper playing for Manchester United, who was a key player in the move that led to Spain’s decisive goal. Rudi Garcia had brought him on shortly before in place of the injured Thibaut Courtois He didn’t take it well, especially considering his colleague’s mistake that cost him his spot in the semifinals. “At the hydration break,” Courtois explains, “I told the coach that I wanted to continue. But he said that if I wasn’t 100%, he would change me.” And so it was, the defeat arrived, and Courtois doesn’t rule out the possibility of finishing his national team career here: “I’m taking a break.”
Orlando Gill of Paraguay
But the World Cup that is coming to an end tells many beautiful stories of goalkeepers whose path was the opposite of that of Lammens. Like that of Orjan Nyland, the keeper of Norway and a real nightmare for the Brazilians, who will face England tonight as…unemployed. In the quarter-finals, he first saved the penalty by Bruno Guimaraes and then he made a series of stunning saves. Nyland has always chased a starting spot throughout his career.
After a couple of promising seasons at Aston Villa, he found total obscurity at Norwich, Bournemouth, and Leipzig. At Sevilla, he made 58 appearances in three seasons, but is now out of contract. He’ll be 36 in September, but many are thinking about him, and it’s the same fate as Orlando Gill, the Paraguayan spider that bit the Germans. Gill often warmed the bench at San Lorenzo in Argentina, Pope Francis’s team. Now Torino wants him, but his price tag has tripled after a super World Cup. His personal story is one of resilience. Or rather, love. In 2022, he and his wife Melissa Avalos welcomed their son Lautaro, born prematurely and in need of medical treatment. To pay for it, Orlando had to sell everything, including his football kits and trophies. Now, with a real professional salary, he’ll have no more problems, and Melissa confesses: “We’re living the dream.”
Vozinha of Cape Verde
The engagement of life will also come for Josimar José Évora Dias known globally as Vozinha which in Portuguese means “granny” and it was the nickname he was called bullied As a child, he would go and cry to his grandmother whenever he was teased. As a defender for Cape Verde, he rocked World Cup-winning Argentina, and his Instagram following went from 50 to nearly 30 million thanks to his truly world-class saves. He’s 40, but he could become a teammate of Leo Messi himself at Inter Miami. Ronwen Williams South Africa’s best player thanks to his dazed expressions after every blocked shot was called the Schillaci of goalkeepers. The anti-star par excellence is Luca Zidane, son of Zizou, who defends the goal of Algeria, but his was not a memorable World Cup. As for Guillermo Ochoa, a legend in Mexico and in Italy at Salernitana, who played only 12 minutes against the Czechs before bidding farewell to his home fans at the Azteca after the defeat to England. For him, at 40, the race is over.
