Lev Yashin

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Lore & Background

Yashin appeared in three World Cups from 1958 to 1966 and was an unused squad member in 1970. The 1958 World Cup, played in Sweden, put Yashin on the map for his performances, with the Soviet Union advancing to the quarter-finals. In a group stage match against the eventual Cup winners Brazil, the Soviet team lost 2–0. Facing a Brazil team that featured Garrincha and a 17 year old Pelé in attack, Yashin's performance prevented the score from becoming a rout. In 1962, despite suffering two concussions during the tournament, he once again led the team to a quarter-final finish, before losing to host country Chile. The tournament showed that Yashin was all too human, having made several uncharacteristic mistakes. In the game against Colombia, which the Soviet Union was leading 4–1, Yashin let in a few soft goals, including a goal scored by Marcos Coll directly from a corner kick. It was the first and the only goal scored directly from a corner in FIFA World Cup history. The Soviet Union's game against Colombia finished in a 4–4 draw, and French newspaper L'Équipe predicted the end of Yashin's career. He made an outstanding save against Chile in the quarter-final. Despite this, the Soviet Union suffered a 2–1 defeat and were eliminated from the World Cup. Yashin led the Soviet team to its best showing at the FIFA World Cup, a fourth-place finish in the 1966 World Cup held in England. Always ready to give advice to his comrades, Yashin even made a fourth trip to the World Cup finals in 1970, held in Mexico, as the third-choice back-up and an assistant coach. The Soviet team again reached the quarter-finals.

In Their Own Story

The 1958 World Cup in Sweden put Yashin on the map. In a group stage match against the eventual Cup winners Brazil, the Soviet team lost 2–0. Facing a Brazil team that featured Garrincha and a 17 year old Pelé in attack, Yashin's performance prevented the score from becoming a rout. Four years later in Chile, Yashin suffered two concussions during the tournament but still led the team to a quarter-final finish. In the game against Colombia, with the Soviet Union leading 4–1, Yashin let in a few soft goals, including a goal scored by Marcos Coll directly from a corner kick — the first and only goal scored directly from a corner in FIFA World Cup history. The game finished in a 4–4 draw, and French newspaper L'Équipe predicted the end of Yashin's career. He made an outstanding save against Chile in the quarter-final, but the Soviet Union suffered a 2–1 defeat and were eliminated. In 1966, Yashin led the Soviet team to its best showing at the FIFA World Cup, a fourth-place finish in England. In 1970, he made a fourth trip to the World Cup finals in Mexico as the third-choice back-up and an assistant coach, with the Soviet team again reaching the quarter-finals.

Reader's Guide

Lev Yashin appeared in three World Cups from 1958 to 1966 and was an unused squad member in 1970. He is credited with four clean sheets out of the 12 games he played in the World Cup finals. In 1963, Yashin received the Ballon d'Or, awarded to the European player of the year, the only goalkeeper ever to receive the award. He was additionally named posthumously to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020, a greatest all-time XI, and was voted the best goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS. He was also named to the IFFHS All-time Men's Dream Team in 2021. He was named by France Football as the greatest goalkeeper of all time in 2020. In 2025, IFFHS crowned him as the greatest goalkeeper in football history. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Russia by the Russian Football Union as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. In 2019, France Football established the Yashin Trophy for the best performing goalkeeper, and is awarded alongside the Ballon D'Or.

Did You Know?

• Yashin is the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d'Or, receiving it in 1963.
• He saved over 150 penalty kicks in professional football — more than any other goalkeeper, according to FIFA.
• Yashin also played goalie for the Dynamo ice hockey team, winning a USSR ice hockey cup in 1953.
• He kept over 270 clean sheets in his career, winning a gold medal at the 1956 Olympic football tournament and the 1960 European Championships.
• In 1962, Yashin conceded the first and only goal scored directly from a corner in FIFA World Cup history, by Marcos Coll of Colombia.