Fabien Barthez

At his peak, Barthez was arguably one of the finest goalkeepers France have ever boasted. Indeed, during his time when representing his country, he helped them lift their first, and only to date, World Cup trophy, while he also later reached the 2006 showpiece. Barthez made his debut for France in 1994 and, after not featuring at Euro 96, he emerged as the country's first-choice goalkeeper. At the 1998 World Cup, hosted on French soil, Barthez conceded just two goals in seven matches as Les Bleus were victorious. Barthez was rewarded for his displays with the prestigious Yashin Award in a tournament famed for its image of French defender Laurent Blanc kissing the head of the keeper before each game. He then featured at the next competition four years later, but Les Bleus drastically underperformed as they failed to even progress from the group stage. In 2006, despite strong competition for his place from Gregory Coupet, Barthez remained first choice and he performed well as he helped his country reach the final against Italy. Along the way to the final, Barthez notched clean sheets against the likes of Portugal and Brazil, who he had previously shut out at the 1998 competition. But a second slice of glory was not to be for France after they lost on penalties against the Italians. Nonetheless, Barthez still shares the record for the most World Cup finals clean sheets with Peter Shilton, with 10.