Matvey Safonov nominated for 2026 Lev Yashin Trophy alongside nine other goalkeepers

PARIS, September 8. /TASS/. The French magazine France Football reported on Tuesday that it had listed Russian goalkeeper Matvey Safonov among 10 nominees for the 2026 Lev Yashin Trophy, which is awarded annually to the world’s best goalkeeper.

Nominated alongside Safonov are: Yassine Bounou (Morocco), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Gregor Kobel (Switzerland), Joan Garcia (Spain), Edouard Mendy (Senegal), Emiliano Martinez (Argentina), David Raya (Spain), Vozinha (Cape Verde) and Unai Simon (Spain).

The awarding event will take place on October 26 in London. It had previously always been held in Paris.

Safonov, 27, has played for French powerhouse PSG since 2024. With the French club, the Russian goalkeeper has won the French championship twice, the French Super Cup once, the UEFA Super Cup twice, the Intercontinental Cup once, and the UEFA Champions League twice.

The France Football magazine established the award for best goalkeeper in September 2019. The prize was named after Yashin, who remains the only goalkeeper in history to have won the Ballon d'Or, a feat he accomplished in 1963.

Russian legend Lev Yashin

Lev Yashin (October 22, 1929 -- March 20, 1990) was a goalkeeper for Dynamo Moscow FC and the Soviet national team. He is considered by many to be the greatest goalkeeper in the history of football - the Pele of goalies. He remains the only goalkeeper in the history of football to win the Ballon d’Or.

Throughout his career he stopped a total of over 150 penalty kicks, the most by any goalkeeper in history and had a record 270 clean sheets throughout his career. He played in three World Cups - in 1958, 1962 and 1966 - where he racked up four shutouts in 12 matches in World Cup finals.

He also appeared at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, but as an emergency backup goalie where he also served as an assistant coach.

He became a sports icon after his first appearance at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, which was the first to be broadcast internationally. Always dressed in black from head to toe, he was often called the ‘Black Spider’ and ‘Black Panther’ by his peers around the world.