Football
ESPN staff 9y

Iker Casillas on FIFPro XI goalkeeper shortlist, David De Gea misses out

FIFA has announced the five goalkeepers shortlisted for the FIFPro World XI 2014, with Iker Casillas up for selection while David De Gea misses out.

Manuel Neuer, Claudio Bravo, Thibaut Courtois, Gianluigi Buffon and Casillas will battle it out to be named in the XI, with the final team selected from a list of 55 players to be voted on by thousands of players.

Casillas -- who was named World XI keeper five years in a row between 2008 and 2012 -- made the list despite struggling for form for both Real Madrid and Spain.

The 33-year-old was Carlo Ancelotti's second-choice goalkeeper in La Liga last season, and made high-profile mistakes in both the Champions League final and the 2014 World Cup as Spain crashed out at the group stages defending the trophy.

De Gea, 24, meanwhile, failed to make the grade despite impressing for Manchester United and rivalling Casillas for the No. 1 jersey at international level.

Neuer, 28, is likely to be favourite for selection having won the World Cup for Germany and starring as Bayern Munich dominated the Bundesliga last season, as well as being named in last year's FIFPro XI.

Juventus shot-stopper Buffon was the World XI goalkeeper in 2006 and 2007, and has been in fine form as the Bianconeri won their third straight Serie A title last season and currently sit top of the table this term.

The Italy No. 1 is also the only keeper to appear on all 10 World XI shortlists since the introduction of the award in 2005.

Bravo impressed at the World Cup for Chile to earn a summer move to Barcelona, and the 31-year-old broke the Liga record for most minutes without conceding a goal at the start of the season.

Courtois, 22, was an integral part of the Atletico Madrid side that won the Spanish title last season, and the Chelsea loanee returned to his parent club this summer to oust Petr Cech as Jose Mourinho's No. 1, with the Blues currently leading the Premier League.

The shortlists for defenders (4), midfielders (3) and forwards (3) will be announced and published on Nov. 26, Nov. 28 and Dec. 1 respectively.

^ Back to Top ^