2010 World Cup Goalkeepers - By The Numbers: Size

2.82

The largest goalkeeper at the World Cup is Australia's Mark Schwarzer.   At 6' 5" and 217 pounds, Schwarzer carries 2.82 pounds for every inch of height.  The 37 year old "socceroo" recently helped Fulham reach the Europa League final and has been linked to a possible transfer to Arsenal.

Next on the height-to-weight ratio list is Tim Howard (USA/Everton) at 2.80 pounds per inch. 

74

The average and median height of the goalkeeping pool at the 2010 World Cup is 6' 2" (74 inches).

6

6 of the 32 projected starters at the goalkeeping position are under 6 feet tall.   This group includes Lee Woon-Jae (South Korea), Justo Villar (Paraguay), Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria), Boubacar Barry (Ivory Coast), Khune Itumeleng (South Africa), and Noel Valladeres (Honduras).

6' 6"

At 6' 6" (78 inches), the tallest starting goalkeeper at the 2010 World Cup is 36 year old Konstantinos Chalkias of Greece.

5' 10"

At 5' 10" (70 inches), the shortest starting goalkeeper at the 2010 World Cup is 33 year old Noel Valladeres of Honduras.  Noel's idol was former Mexico goalkeeper Jorge Campos, who was extremely short by current international standards at (5' 6" or 65 inches).   Valladares shares another notable trait with Campos in that they are both very skilled with the ball at their feet.   Both men began their careers playing striker.

UPDATE:  5' 9"
With Perez making the start over Ochoa in the first match vs. South Africa, Oscar Perez of Mexico is the shortest starting goalkeeper at 5' 9".

2.169

The smallest goalkeeper at the World Cup is the Ivory Coast's Boubacar Barry.   His 5' 11" and 154 pound frame calculates as 2.169 per inch of height. 

Country	Goalkeeper	Age	Height	Weight	lbs/inch
Australia	Mark Schwarzer	37	6' 05"	217	2.82
USA	Tim Howard	31	6' 03"	210	2.80
Italy	Gianluigi Buffon	32	6' 03"	205	2.73
Ghana	Richard Kingson	31	6' 00"	192	2.67
Cameroon	Carlos Kameni	26	6' 01"	190	2.60
England	David James	39	6' 05"	200	2.60
Slovakia	Jan Mucha	27	6' 02"	192	2.59
Denmark	Thomas Sorensen	33	6' 04"	196	2.58
Chile	Caudio Bravo	27	6' 00"	185	2.57
New.Zealand	Mark Paston	33	6' 05"	198	2.57
Spain	Iker Casillas	29	6' 01"	187	2.56
S.Korea	Lee Woon-Jae	37	5' 11"	181	2.55
Slovenia	Samir Handanovic	25	6' 05"	194	2.52
Honduras	Noel Valladares	33	5' 10"	176	2.51
Algeria	Lounes Gaouaoui	32	6' 02"	185	2.50
Portugal	Eduardo	27	6' 02"	185	2.50
S.Africa	Khune Itumeleng	22	5' 11"	176	2.48
Nigeria	Vincent Enyeama	27	5' 11"	174	2.45
Paraguay	Justo Villar	32	5' 11"	174	2.45
Netherlands	Maarten Stekelenburg	27	6' 04"	185	2.43
Serbia	Vladimir Stojkovic	26	6' 05"	187	2.43
Argentina	Sergio Romero	23	6' 04"	183	2.41
Switzerland	Diego Benaglio	26	6' 04"	183	2.41
Brazil	Julio Cesar	30	6' 01"	174	2.38
Germany	Manuel Neuer	24	6' 03"	176	2.35
N.Korea	Ri Myong-Guk	23	6' 02"	174	2.35
Greece	Konstantinos Chalkias	36	6' 06"	181	2.32
Japan	Seigo Narazaki	34	6' 02"	168	2.27
Mexico	Guillermo Ochoa	24	6' 00"	159	2.21
France	Hugo Lloris	23	6' 02"	161	2.18
Uruguay	Fernando Muslera	23	6' 03"	163	2.173
Ivory.Coast	Boubacar Barry	30	5' 11"	154	2.169

Mark Schwarzer's World Cup Destiny: From Sydney to Stuttgart