Édouard Mendy

Few goalkeepers have travelled a stranger road than Édouard Mendy, who was unemployed and claiming benefits in 2014 before rebuilding his career via Reims, Rennes and then Chelsea, where he started the 2021 UEFA Champions League final win over Manchester City and became the first African goalkeeper to do so. That year he won The Best FIFA Goalkeeper and UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year, an unprecedented double for an African. He was Senegal's number one when they won the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (named best goalkeeper) and started every match at the 2022 World Cup as the Lions reached the last 16. Since 2023 he has captained Al-Ahli, winning the AFC Champions League Elite. Now 34 and still Pape Thiaw's first choice, Mendy started against France on 16 June 2026, conceding three in a 3-1 defeat. His commanding 1.94 m frame and shot-stopping remain Senegal's defensive anchor at a third major tournament.