Ballon d’Or 2026: Two African goalkeepers make Top 10

<p>By Mary Emeka<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Two African goalkeepers have been nominated among the final 10 contenders for the 2026 Ballon d’Or Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p><p class&equals;"ari-link"><strong>Read also&colon;<&sol;strong> <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;sparknewsdaily&period;com&period;ng&sol;nscdc-sets-to-investigate-deaths-of-suspected-illegal-miners-in-niger&sol;">NSCDC Sets to Investigate Death of Suspected Illegal Miners in Niger<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Cape Verde’s Vozinha and Senegal’s Édouard Mendy made the shortlist released on Tuesday following their performances during the 2026 FIFA World Cup&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Vozinha&comma; 40&comma; earned recognition for his displays with Cape Verde&comma; while Mendy also impressed with Senegal during the tournament&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>They will compete against Argentina’s Emiliano Martínez&comma; Morocco’s Yassine Bounou&comma; Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois and six other goalkeepers for the individual prize&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The full list of nominees is&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Yassine Bounou – Morocco<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Thibaut Courtois – Belgium<&sol;p><p class&equals;"ari-link"><strong>Read also&colon;<&sol;strong> <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;sparknewsdaily&period;com&period;ng&sol;state-police-the-good-bad-ugly-anambra-as-a-case-study-the-udo-ga-achi-experience&sol;">State Police&colon; The Good&comma; Bad&comma; Ugly &&num;8211&semi; Anambra As A Case Study &&num;038&semi; The Udo Ga-Achi Experience<&sol;a><&sol;p><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Joan García – Spain<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Gregor Kobel – Switzerland<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Emiliano Martínez – Argentina<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Édouard Mendy – Senegal<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>David Raya – Spain<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Matvey Safonov – Russia<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Unai Simón – Spain<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"ari-link"><strong>Read also&colon;<&sol;strong> <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;sparknewsdaily&period;com&period;ng&sol;oyetola-ends-20-years-of-delay-in-cvff-disbursement-orders-fast-track-for-shipowners&sol;">Oyetola Ends 20 Years of Delay in CVFF Disbursement&comma; Orders Fast-Track for Shipowners<&sol;a><&sol;p><p>Vozinha – Cape Verde<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The winner of the award is expected to be announced next month in London&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;