Five goalkeepers have been nominated for the 2026 Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award at the Ballon d’Or, with Ann-Katrin Berger, Cata Coll, Hannah Hampton, Lorena and Ayaka Yamashita making the shortlist.
There is no obvious shortage of silverware among the nominees. Coll won five trophies with Barcelona and Spain, Yamashita helped Manchester City to a domestic double before winning the Asian Cup with Japan, while Berger and Lorena both enjoyed successful seasons in the NWSL. But who should win the award?
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year 2026 nominees
Ann-Katrin Berger – Gotham FC and Germany
Berger recorded 23 clean sheets in 36 matches, conceding 24 goals across the period considered for the award.
The experienced Germany international also added two trophies to her collection as Gotham FC won the NWSL and NWSL Challenge Cup.
2025/26: 36 matches, 24 goals conceded, 23 clean sheets
Trophies: NWSL, NWSL Challenge Cup
Cata Coll – Barcelona and Spain
On numbers and trophies alone, Cata Coll makes perhaps the most straightforward case. The Barcelona goalkeeper conceded only 18 goals in 39 matches and kept 23 clean sheets, matching Berger for the highest total among the five nominees.
Her trophy haul is considerably larger. Coll won the Women’s Champions League, Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Super Cup with Barcelona, as well as the Nations League with Spain.
Barcelona’s dominance does provide some context to those numbers. Coll plays behind one of the strongest teams in world football and can go through periods of matches facing relatively little pressure. That should not diminish her quality as a goalkeeper, but it makes comparing her clean-sheet record directly with goalkeepers working in different circumstances difficult.
2025/26: 39 matches, 18 goals conceded, 23 clean sheets
Trophies: Nations League, Champions League, Liga F, Spanish Cup, Spanish Super Cup
Hannah Hampton – Chelsea and England
Hannah Hampton remains one of the strongest candidates despite Chelsea collecting only the League Cup during the season. The England international played 34 matches, kept 18 clean sheets and conceded 30 goals.
Her domestic league performances were particularly impressive. Hampton won the WSL Golden Glove for the second successive season, keeping eight league clean sheets.
The Chelsea goalkeeper is also the defending winner of the award, having claimed the inaugural Women’s Yashin Trophy in 2025.
2025/26: 34 matches, 30 goals conceded, 18 clean sheets
Trophy: FA League Cup
Lorena – Kansas City Current and Brazil
Lorena is perhaps the most difficult of the five candidates to compare directly. The Brazil international made 29 appearances for Kansas City Current, conceding 27 goals and keeping 12 clean sheets.
She also helped Kansas City win the NWSL Shield.
2025/26: 29 matches, 27 goals conceded, 12 clean sheets
Trophy: NWSL Shield
Ayaka Yamashita – Manchester City and Japan
Ayaka Yamashita’s numbers do not immediately jump off the page in the same way as Coll’s or Berger’s, but her season deserves a closer look.
The Manchester City goalkeeper was part of the side that won both the WSL and FA Cup. In league competition, Yamashita recorded a 76.5% save percentage and her 4.7 goals prevented was the second-highest figure among WSL goalkeepers.
She also produced important saves at crucial moments during City’s title-winning campaign. Her year became even stronger on the international stage.
Yamashita helped Japan win the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup and kept a clean sheet in the 1-0 final victory over hosts Australia. She was subsequently named the tournament’s Best Goalkeeper.
2025/26: 29 matches, 22 goals conceded, 13 clean sheets
Trophies: AFC Women’s Asian Cup, WSL, FA Cup
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year 2026 nominees
Who gets Women’s Football Blog’s vote?
This is probably the toughest decision of the Ballon d’Or categories so far. Cata Coll is the easy choice on paper. Twenty-three clean sheets, only 18 goals conceded and five major trophies make an exceptional résumé. She is undoubtedly an excellent goalkeeper.
But Barcelona’s dominance has to be part of the discussion. They control so many matches that Coll is not always asked to influence games as frequently as some of the other nominees.
Ann-Katrin Berger remains an outstanding goalkeeper and enjoyed another successful season with Gotham, while Lorena’s performances earned her a deserved place among the five nominees.
For us, however, it comes down to Hannah Hampton and Ayaka Yamashita.
Hampton’s second successive WSL Golden Glove strengthens an already convincing case. She has established herself as one of the world’s leading goalkeepers and remained an important presence for Chelsea.
Our vote, though, goes to Ayaka Yamashita.
She combined a title-winning domestic season with performances that required her to make a genuine difference for Manchester City. Her underlying WSL numbers strengthen that case, particularly her goals prevented, while winning the Asian Cup and being named the tournament’s best goalkeeper adds another significant achievement.
There is very little separating Hampton and Yamashita for me, but Yamashita’s combination of club success, international success and individual goalkeeping performance just gives her the edge.
Women’s Football Blog’s Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year 2026 vote: Ayaka Yamashita.
Source: Ballon d’Or – Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year 2026 nominees
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