Ranked: The most horrendous goalkeeper errors in football history

Fatal consequences
1. Oliver Kahn
Ronaldo Nazário
2. André Onana
4-3 loss
3. Loris Karius
Two mistakes
4. René Higuita
Roger Milla
5. Rob Green
Clint Dempsey
6. Jordan Pickford
Divock Origi
7. Peter Enckelman
Birmingham City
8. Wojciech Szczesny
Obafemi Martins
9. Shay Given
Coventry City
10. Peter Shilton
Last international
12. Heurelho Gomes
Simon Davies
Fatal consequences

When goalkeepers make mistakes, the consequences are often fatal. These shotstoppers made costly mistakes in their careers.

1. Oliver Kahn

Oliver Kahn was once praised as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, but the German did not live up to that reputation in the 2002 FIFA World Cup final.

Ronaldo Nazário

In the final, Kahn could not stop a shot by Rivaldo, after which Ronaldo scored the first Brazilian goal in a 0-2 win for the South Americans.

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2. André Onana

André Onana did Manchester United no favours when the Red Devils faced Bayern Munich in the Champions League in September 2023.

4-3 loss

Cameroon's goalkeeper let a seemingly easy shot by Leroy Sané go past and paved the way for the 4-3 win for Der Rekordmeiser.

3. Loris Karius

Loris Karius is a name Liverpool fans still remember.

Two mistakes

The German goalkeeper made two costly mistakes that allowed Benzema and Bale to score and lead Real Madrid to European glory in the 2018 Champions League final.

4. René Higuita

Colombia's René Higuita is perhaps the most spectacular shot stopper on this list.

Roger Milla

At the 1990 FIFA World Cup against Cameroon, Higuita tried to dribble Roger Milla, but the Cameroon striker got hold of the ball and scored what was perhaps the easiest goal of his career.

5. Rob Green

Rob Green was England's shot stopper at the 2010 FIFA World Cup against the USA, at the expense of Joe Hart.

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Clint Dempsey

Things went all wrong for Green when Clint Dempsey tried his luck from well outside the 18-yard penalty area, and England's goalkeeper clumsily let the ball past, to everyone's surprise.

6. Jordan Pickford

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford experienced a nightmare against Liverpool in the 2018/19 Premier League season.

Divock Origi

Pickford miscalculated horribly on a volley by Virgil van Dijk, allowing Divock Origi to score the late winner of the Merseyside derby. Painful.

7. Peter Enckelman

The same can be said of Finland's Peter Enckelman, who played for Aston Villa in the 2002/03 Premier League season.

Birmingham City

In the derby against Birmingham City, Enckelman misjudged over an Olof Mellberg throw-in and let the ball slip under his foot, good for one of the most clumsy own-goals ever. Ouch.

8. Wojciech Szczesny

That same Birmingham played in the Carling Cup final in 2011, where they met Wojciech Szczesny's Arsenal.

Obafemi Martins

In a game that seemed headed for extra time, the Polish goalie wanted to collect the ball, but was surprised by Laurent Koscielny's air-kick. Birmingham striker Obafemi Martins did not care and gave his team the long-awaited trophy with the winning goal.

9. Shay Given

Next up, is Shay Given, who played for Newcastle United in the 1997/98 season.

Coventry City

In a game against Coventry City, Given collected a cross and prepared to put the ball back into play. What he did not see, however, was Dion Dublin slipping in behind him to score an easy but clumsy goal.

10. Peter Shilton

Peter Shilton is one of the best English goalkeepers of all time, but ended his international career in a rather embarrassing way.

Last international

The goalkeeper was playing his last international against Italy at the 1990 World Cup when he lost the ball awkwardly, after which Roberto Baggio scored an effortless goal.

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12. Heurelho Gomes

Heurelho Gomes was playing for Tottenham when things went wrong against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Simon Davies

The Brazilian completely misjudged a Simon Davies cross and let the ball slip awkwardly into his goal.

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