Over the last few years in EA Sports games, goalkeepers have seen the biggest immediate changes in any position. EA’s mission was to make FC 26’s top goalkeepers not only better and more reliable at stopping shots, but also more effective at receiving crosses and more predictable in one-on-one situations.
This improvement took several forms. Firstly, more varied playing styles give goalkeepers more personality not only in terms of defending, but also spreading the ball with their legs, allowing them to launch long ball attacks and ping passes to defenders to play from the back.
The goalkeeper’s manual movement has also been overhauled since its over-implementation a few games ago, so that high-level players can now subtly narrow the angle of their shot with a single step, instead of the weird-looking and unrealistic guessing game that came with goalies being able to run sideways faster than a crab on the beach.
Finally, and most importantly, FC 26 manually addressed the frustrating effect of rebounds falling straight onto the opponent – even when it was actually the result of realistic physics. Nowadays, goalkeepers are generally much better at pushing a shot away to one of their teammates or into empty space on the pitch, rather than helplessly pushing the ball into the opponent’s net in order to score another goal after the deflection.
With these ideas in mind, the top goalkeepers who sign with FC 26 have several things in common. They are either literally huge enough to reach the corners of the goal, or have a Long Range playstyle that allows them to snatch the ball out of the air when all seems lost.
Or they have passing stats and a playing style that even a decent midfielder would envy, allowing them to kick the ball up with enough feeling and direction to actually contribute to your attack.
Then, most importantly for Career Mode players, they all have at least 10 years of life in the tank, allowing them to either reach the already rising Potential stat or even exceed it with Dynamic Potential. Because goalkeepers tend to play longer in their careers, their age profile looks a bit different – goalkeepers in their early 20s are still considered teenage (after all, they could be your starter for the next 15 years).
Here are our picks for the best goalkeepers to play in EA Sports FC 26, including a good selection of different shot stoppers, some (hopefully) lesser-heard names, and realistic players from a variety of clubs and budgets.
If you’re looking for the best teenage goalkeepers to sign, you can also check out our list of the best Wonderkids in EA Sports FC 26.
The best goalkeepers to sign up for EA Sports FC 26
| Name: | Team: | Age: | Generally: | Key Attributes: | Value/Salary: |
| Anatoly Trubin | Benfica | 23 | 80 | Huge potential at 87, 6ft 6in and with a footwork-based playing style | 31 million pounds / 10 thousand pounds |
| Lammens’ dream | Manchester United | 22 | 78 | 87 Potential, solid stats and good playstyles | GBP 23.7 million / 31 thousand GBP |
| Robin Roefs | Sunderland | 22 | 76 | 84 Potential, sold together with great playstyles | 12.5 million pounds / 22 thousand pounds |
| Konstantinos Tzolakis | Olympiacos | 22 | 79 | 86 Potential with good all-around stats | 26.2 million pounds / 15 thousand pounds |
| Guillaume remains | Toulouse | 20 | 78 | 86 Potential with great kicks and reflexes, Footwork PlayStyle | 22.8 million pounds / 8 thousand pounds |
| James Trafford | City of Man | 22 | 76 | 84 Potential with great playstyles | 12.5 million pounds / 35 thousand pounds |
| Dennis’ shed | Paderborn (Stuttgart) | 19 | 66 | 84 Potential and very affordable, but currently on loan | GBP 1.7 million / 3 thousand GBP |
| Noah Atubolu | Freiburg | 23 | 78 | 83 Potential, but with footwork and long reach | £14.6m/13k GBP |
| Maarten Vandevoordt | RB Leipzig | 23 | 76 | 86 Potential with great playing styles, including long ball passing | 12.5 million pounds / 18 thousand pounds |
| Zion Suzuki | Parma | 22 | 74 | 82 Potential, available Japanese representative with Long Ball pass | £6.9m/8k pounds |
| Jonasz Urbig | Bayern | 21 | 74 | 84 Potential with good kicking and footwork-based playing style | GBP 6.9 million / 13 thousand GBP |
| Tobe Leysen | Oh, Leuven | 23 | 73 | 80 potential with long passes and footwork | 4.3 million pounds / 5 thousand pounds |
| Obed Kambadio | Paris FC | 22 | 74 | 82 Potential with good reflexes | 6.9 million pounds / 15 thousand pounds |
| Mateusz Epolo | Standard deckchair | 20 | 73 | 85 Potential, footwork and long reach with good diving | 5.6 million pounds / 4 thousand pounds |
| Pascal Loretz | FC Lucerne | 22 | 72 | 82 Potential with PlayStyles, Footwork and Cross Claimer distribution | £4 million/£4,000 |
| Rome-Jeace Owiss-Odro | Alkmaar | 20 | 71 | 84 Potential, long-range play style and good reflexes | 3.4 million pounds / 4 thousand pounds |
| Fran Gonzalez | Real Madrid | 20 | 64 | 81 potential and 6 feet 6 inches | 1.2 million pounds / 9 thousand pounds |
| Marcin Grudka | NEOM | 25 | 79 | 84 Potential with good stats and footwork based play style | 17.6 million pounds / 14 thousand pounds |
| Filip Jorgensen | Chelsea | 23 | 77 | 83 Potential thanks to solid stats and footwork-based playstyle | £11.6 million / 39 thousand pounds |
| Deniz Donmezer | Kayserispor | 16 | 59 | 82 Potential, with the most growth potential of any teenage goalkeeper | 500 thousand pounds/500 pounds |
If you’re playing one of the biggest teams in the world with the biggest budget, one of your best options for a up-to-date goalkeeper is Anatolia Trubin from BenFikawho at 6 feet 6 inches is quite enormous himself. Growing in strength, Trubin now has a potential ceiling that matches what he needs at home, with a massive +7 upside, bringing his total potential to 87. His reflexes and positioning are already top-notch, and he’s quality enough to be included in virtually any top-flight club.
To see a realistic option that is destined to reach the top of your game, check out Freiburg’s German U21 goalkeeper, Noah Atubolu. After a great performance against Germany to reach the final of the European Under-21 Championship, Atubolu is getting better and better at the game, now boasting both the Footwork and Far Reach PlayStyles metas. What’s even more stimulating is that he’s also a penalty kick specialist. This season he has already set a Bundesliga record by saving 5 penalties in a row. Definitely worth watching.
Another relatively pricey option is Maarten Vandevoordtwhich has been a indefinite element of the career mode for several years. At 23, he’s at the top end of the Wonderkid ladder, but still has plenty of potential at 86 and plenty of great playing styles, making him arguably the best second-choice goalkeeper in the world. With Peter Gulacsi still playing for Leipzig, it’s not unrealistic to expect him to want more playing time elsewhere.
A key part of an emerging Greek team that appears to be brimming with great talent, Konstantinos Tzolakis he is only 22 years aged, he is the first choice for Olympiacos in both the league and the Champions League, but he could probably be tempted to play football at the highest level in one of the top 5 leagues in Europe.
Again, Guillaume remains has been at the top of many saves’ lists in Manager Career mode for quite some time now, but remains a solid choice for many wealthy teams. With great kicking and reflexes, as well as the popular Footwork style of play, he is the archetypal Wonderkid who could be your go-to goalie for the next decade or more.
If you prefer more realistic transfers than just scooping up all the most overpowered players, then Marcin Grudka he is definitely someone worth considering. Like Forest’s Matz Sels, Bulka looked set for a huge move to the Premier League or another top club after his Player of the Month-worthy performances in Ligue 1 – but it never happened. Currently playing in Saudi Arabia, or rather not playing, after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in real life, Bulka finds himself in the odd situation where NEOM now has both Bulka and former Sporting goalkeeper Luis Maximiano on their books. Since they obviously don’t need two European quality goalkeepers for the competition, go and get one for your team.
Finally for the wealthy clubs, Filip Jorgensen at Chelsea is a well-known player, often cited as one of the best second-choice goalkeepers in the area. He is a good player and relatively available to mid-tier clubs, similar to how Bournemouth signed Petrovic.
However, for smaller clubs looking for a long-term investment, Mateusz Epolo is something special. With a potential of 85, good diving and reflexes, and a meta combination of Footwork and Far Reach PlayStyles, he is perfect for the bench or on the Championship Road to Glory.
However, if you are looking for a contemporary ball-playing goalkeeper, Pascal Loretz is even more accessible, but also includes the Long Ball Pass and Far Throw playstyles for distribution.
Finally, for the smallest budgets, Rome-Jeace Owiss-Odro in the Eredivisie he has the best ratio of a low fee, good starting statistics and a powerful playing style. But if you’re really strapped for cash, there’s also something like this Fran Gonzalez who is the third choice in Real Madrid. His starting salary is higher because of this, but it can be changed at the negotiating table.
There’s one more thing worth mentioning Deniz Donmezerwhich has 82 potential out of 59 overall. His salary is peanuts, but you probably don’t want to throw someone with such a low overall rating directly onto your team. It’s not very realistic, but you can buy him cheaply in the lower leagues and rent him out from there to utilize as you move up the ranks.
