WORLD CUP SAVES | OneFootball

Mike Maignan played, and won, his first-ever FIFA World Cup match, helping France to a 3-1 victory over Senegal, coming just shy of his 31st birthday. Back in 2018, "Magic Eagle" was still in his second season at Lille, while in 2022 he missed the World Cup in Qatar due to a long-term calf injury, that also sidelined him at AC Milan. This time, however, he is fully fit and first choice goalkeeper for France. He follows in the footsteps of several notable goalkeepers in AC Milan's history. At the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, Italy's starting goalkeeper was Giorgio Ghezzi, who was then playing for Inter but would later join AC Milan and become the number one for the side that won its first European Cup in 1963. His story mirrors that of Lorenzo Buffon, who passed away last November at the age of 95. A four-time Serie A Champion with AC Milan between 1950 and 1959, he later went on to represent Italy at the 1962 World Cup while playing for Inter. 

Enrico Albertosi was Italy's first-choice goalkeeper at both the 1966 World Cup in England and the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, before joining AC Milan where he played from 1974 to 1980. For Giovanni Galli, the summer of 1986 was memorable for more than one reason. It was the year he conceded Maradona's famous goal at the World Cup in Mexico, but also the summer he completed his move from Fiorentina to AC Milan. Later Sebastiano Rossi and Christian Abbiati both enjoyed highly succesful spells with the Rossoneri although neither managed to establish himself as Italy's goalkeeper. Nelson Dida, meanwhile, was Brazil’s third-choice goalkeeper at the 1998 World Cup in France and served as backup at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Unfortunately, Gigio Donnarumma never had the opportunity to play at a World Cup. However, while still under contract with AC Milan, he was part of Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2020, which the Azzurri went on to win in 2021. It was Maignan who arrived at AC Milan to replace Donnarumma, and today he is France's first-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup in the United States.

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