The Tallest Soccer Players Around The World Aren’t Who We’d Expect

Fred Emmings is one of the brightest, and tallest, prospects at Minnesota United at present. He wrote his name in the club’s history books by becoming the first player developed through its academy to earn a professional contract there. But while the young goalkeeper has yet to make his Major League Soccer (MLS) debut, he has made 13 appearances in MLS Next Pro in 2022. We’ll definitely be seeing more of Emmings in the future.

As a central defender, your size can go a long way to helping out your team. Nick DePuy is certainly familiar with that responsibility, as he’s enjoyed a solid career throughout his time in the MLS. After joining C.F. Montréal in his early 20s, the towering center-back was picked up by Los Angeles Galaxy two years later in 2019. Since then, DePuy has made more than 60 appearances for the club.

It’s fair to say that Sebastian Breza has moved around a lot during his playing career. Despite being born in Canada, the goalkeeper made his breakthrough in lower-league Italian soccer. And he was hard to miss! Anyway, thanks to his performances between the sticks, Breza soon bagged a move to Bologna in Serie A, before getting loaned out to C.F. Montréal in 2021. He’s due back in Italy in 2023.

After making his breakthrough at Birmingham City, Jack Butland has since enjoyed a very credible career in English soccer. The tall goalkeeper has made close to 100 appearances in the Premier League, with most of those coming at Stoke City. He’s got nine England caps to his name, too. Now, though, Butland finds himself at Crystal Palace, where he hasn’t been playing as regularly.

When Robert Sánchez turned 15, he signed a contract at Brighton & Hove Albion in England. From there, the exciting prospect gained some valuable experience in the lower leagues with Forest Green Rovers and Rochdale, respectively. Then, in the 2020/21 season, Sánchez finally made his Premier League bow with Brighton. The towering Spaniard has been their first-choice goalkeeper ever since.

There’s nothing that soccer fans love more than watching a youth player climb up the ranks into their club’s first team. Isaac Price was a prime example of that. After signing with Everton as a seven-year-old, the midfielder was thrown into the side for the first time in the Premier League in 2022. He was only 18. Still, though, many of Price’s teammates found themselves looking up to him on the field: he’s pretty big!

With close to 350 club appearances to his name, Wayne Hennessey has had quite the career. He starred between the sticks at Wolverhampton Wanderers, before enjoying another lengthy spell at Crystal Palace. Now, Hennessey is playing for Nottingham Forest, and will be looking to add to his 106 caps for Wales this winter. Yep, the tall goalkeeper is part of The Dragons’ World Cup squad.

Joel Robles got his start as a soccer player at Atlético Madrid. And while he certainly wasn’t first choice there, the goalkeeper went on to pick up two Europa League titles. Not bad! But it could be argued that Robles’ most notable achievement came after he moved to England. The Spaniard played a huge role as underdogs Wigan Athletic won the F.A. Cup in 2013. Now, he’s at Leeds United.

He may not be the tallest player on this list, but at 6’6’’, we wouldn’t want to face off against Wout Weghorst on the soccer field! The 30-year-old striker is known for being quite the goal poacher, and it’s easy to see how he’s so good at intimidating other players. He was put on loan from Burnley to Süper Lig in 2022.

Another exciting prospect, Jonathan Sirois is currently fine-tuning his skills as a goalkeeper while on loan at Valour F.C. At the time of writing, he’s made over 40 appearances in the Canadian Premier League. Something tells us that it won’t be long until Siriois gets his chance at his parent club C.F. Montréal. He’s only 21. And his massive size is a plus as well!

Kristoffer Ajer kick-started his soccer career in 2014 with I.K. Start giving him a chance. Then, the tall center-back moved to Scotland in 2016 as Celtic rolled the dice to buy him. It paid off for Ajer — he won nine major trophies at the club! Thanks to his excellent performances, the defender now plays in the English Premier League with Brentford. Oh, and he’s earned nearly 30 caps for Norway.

At just 22 years old, Luka Gavran is definitely a name to look out for in the future. Following an impressive spell between the sticks as a college player, the giant Canadian goalkeeper bagged a move to Toronto F.C. in 2022. At the time of writing, he’s since made 20 appearances in MLS Next Pro. It shouldn’t be long until Gavran works his way into the first team!

As a rangy central defender, Jackson Ragen has enjoyed a pretty successful spell with Seattle Sounders. He and his teammates won the CONCACAF Champions League in the 2021/22 season. After that, Ragen made his MLS bow in 2022. What a whirlwind! Given his attributes and skill, the American could become a stalwart in the league over the next few years.

Nick Pope is without doubt one of the best English goalkeepers in the game at the moment. Thanks to his size and agility, he’s like a brick wall between the sticks — you’ve got to work hard to beat him! Pope has more than 150 Premier League appearances to his name, earning a move to Newcastle United in 2022. He’ll be hoping to feature for England at the World Cup after making the squad.

As a teenager, Javier Otero was picked up by Orlando City’s academy in 2018. He eventually made his debut two years later in USL League One, but the young goalkeeper only played one game. Otero enjoyed a better 2022 for the club, though, as he was selected 17 times in MLS Next Pro. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on for the future.

There are few players in the English Premier League who can match the experience of Asmir Begović. This guy has made over 400 club appearances across his career, earning more than 60 caps for Bosnia-Herzegovina, too. The towering goalkeeper has also won the Premier League, the F.A. Cup, and the Azerbaijani league. That’s some haul! Now, Begović plays with Everton.

Even though he’s just 30 years old, Jannik Vestergaard is only two games away from his 350th club appearance. The giant Danish defender made his name in German football, ahead of moving to England in 2018. From there, he spent three years at Southampton and then got signed by Leicester City in 2021.

The enormous Austrian striker Sasa Kalajdzic has bagged close to 40 goals during his club career, which earned the attention of Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2022. The English Premier League side went on to recruit him, but the unlucky Kalajdzic suffered a horrible knee injury in his first appearance. He won’t be playing again this season.

Fraser Forster has represented a lot of clubs across his lengthy career. After signing for Newcastle United in 2005 the huge goalkeeper went on to play for the likes of Bristol Rovers, Stockport County, and Norwich City. He’s also enjoyed spells at Southampton and Celtic, picking up four league titles with the latter. At present, Forster is part of Tottenham Hotspur’s squad.

Hunter Sulte is a bit of a history-maker: after rising through Portland Timbers’ youth setup, he earned a “homegrown contract” at the club. No other Alaskan player has managed to do that in the MLS. And you can see why the Timbers are so enamored with him. Sulte has the size and ability to become a top goalkeeper in the future.

Other than Fraser Forster, no other person in the English Premier League can match the size of Dan Burn. He’s the tallest outfield player in the competition. Burn is also deceptively skillful, playing a versatile role in Newcastle United’s backline at present. He’s represented a host of other clubs during his career, too, but this is arguably his best spell. A real underrated gem if you ask us!

When you look at the list of clubs for whom Stefan Maierhofer has played across the years, it reads like a Who’s Who of famous names. Bayern Munich, Rapid Vienna, Red Bull Salzburg, Wolverhampton Wanderers — it just goes on! In total, the forward has scored 129 goals in just over 400 club appearances. And he’s still playing now in Austria’s third division. The 40-year-old giant is a machine.

This towering soccer player may have retired in 2015 but he’s too talented — and tall — to forget. He’s played soccer since the early ’90s and finally turned professional in 2003 when he joined Red Star Belgrade. Despite worries that his height would hinder his soccer career, it ended up helping him, and he played on Serbia’s national team for years. He even captained his home country’s national team in 2011.

Fans of English soccer are sure to recognize Costel Pantilimon. The giant Romanian goalkeeper enjoyed a very successful spell at Manchester City from 2012 to 2014, winning a pair of Premier League titles and a League Cup. After that, Pantilimon moved around a bit, playing for clubs such as Sunderland, Nottingham Forest, and Watford. Now, though? He’s currently a free agent.

Another Norwegian star, Öyvind Hoas towered over opposing defenders during his career as a striker. He went on to score 58 club goals in 251 appearances, playing for the likes of Molde, Hönefoss, and Fredrikstad in his homeland. Kristiansund proved to be his last club, though, as Hoas hung up his large boots in 2016. He was just 32 at the time of his retirement.

While some may label Lacina Traore as a bit of a journeyman, the forward has certainly left his mark on European soccer. He’s played for several notable clubs, ranging from A.S. Monaco to CSKA Moscow. Traore had a short spell in England with Everton as well, alongside two successful stints at CFR Cluj. The tall striker won two Romanian league titles and three cups with the latter.

Following his birth in Colombia, Mikkel Mena Qvist moved to Denmark to realize his soccer dream. A giant central defender, he’s gone on to play for a few different teams in the country, while also dipping his toes into the Icelandic league. Qvist has racked up 150 club appearances at the time of writing, and now features for Iceland’s Breidablik.

Given his size, it’s almost impossible to miss Matthew Nocita when he’s out on a soccer pitch. This young man made his name while playing for the United States Naval Academy’s team — the Navy Midshipmen. His performances in defense eventually caught the eye of New York Red Bulls, who signed him in January 2022. Nocita then took a break from the sport, before returning in the summer.

Assuming that Kjell Scherpen eventually breaks into Brighton & Hove Albion’s first-team, he’ll easily become one of the Premier League’s tallest-ever players. At the moment, though, the Dutch goalkeeper is out on loan back in his homeland. Scherpen’s currently lining up between the sticks at Vitesse Arnhem. He made seven Eredivisie appearances prior to the winter World Cup break.

You won’t find many players in the modern game who spend ten years at a single club: it just doesn’t happen much any more. Tor Hogne Aarøy pulled it off, though. After moving to Aalesunds F.K. in 2001 the super-sized Norwegian striker stayed there until 2011. He eventually left for Japan at that point, but came back again two years later. Aarøy then decided to hang up his boots at the start of 2015.

Northern-Irish player Jason Mooney spent some time in the amateur leagues before he finally made his professional debut with Wycombe Wanderers. His astounding height made his position of goalkeeper a no-brainer, though it wasn’t always easy for Mooney to stay in the professional league. Since 2011 he’s bounced back and forth between professional and semi-professional leagues, and by 2018 he was back where he started with the Ards.

There are a lot of eyes on Lucas Bergström’s progress at present. He’s a highly-rated goalkeeper from Chelsea’s academy, having left Finland to sign up in 2019. He might only be 20, but obviously he’s already much bigger than all his teammates! The club decided to loan Bergström out to Peterborough United in 2022 so he could gain valuable experience, and it appears to be paying off. He’s played 18 League One games this season.

Vanja Ivesa was a formidable goalkeeper prior to his retirement in 2021. Thanks to his sheer size, it was incredibly difficult to get the ball past him. We wouldn’t fancy our chances going one-on-one with Ivesa in the box! He played in Croatia, Australia, and Turkey during his career, and he is still the tallest guy to ever feature in those leagues.

At 27 years of age, Dino Hodzic is approaching the prime years of his goalkeeping career. The tall Croatian player has lined up for plenty of clubs since donning the gloves — both at home and across Europe. He’s popped up in places such as Denmark and Hungary. Now, Hodzic represents Kári in the Icelandic league. Might he be able to establish himself there?

After coming through Sparta Prague’s academy, there was a lot of interest in Tomas Holy. Where would he end up? Well, the lanky goalkeeper secured a surprise move to Gillingham in England in 2017. He went on to make over 100 appearances for the lower-league club, before joining Ipswich Town in 2019. Today, Holy is between the sticks at Carlisle United in League Two.

We get the feeling that defenders would’ve hated marking giant forward Paul Millar in his prime. The striker enjoyed a very fruitful spell at Scotland’s Elgin City, playing close to 80 games between 2010 and 2014. He bagged 18 goals in that time. Gut-wrenchingly, though, Millar picked up a career-ending knee injury not long afterwards.

An undeniable veteran of the Belgian game, Kristof van Hout has spent most of his career in his homeland. He’s played for the likes of Standard Liège, Genk, and K.V. Kortrijk. The towering goalkeeper also had a brief spell in India with Delhi Dynamos, before returning to Belgium in 2015. Van Hout was recently signed by Lommel S.K., so he’s still playing today.

Good luck winning any headers against Changpeng Yang! The Chinese striker terrified defenders across the domestic leagues while playing for the likes of Henan Songshan Longmen and Yinchuan Helanshan. But Changpeng hasn’t been able to showcase his talents outside China: he’s never played for a foreign club. As for his status, he’s been a free agent since 2021.

Not many players can say that they’ve featured for both F.C. Copenhagen and Waltham Abbey, but Simon Bloch Jörgensen can! The huge goalkeeper had an intriguing career, which started in Denmark. Then, Jörgensen found himself in the lower reaches of England’s soccer pyramid, where he played until his retirement in the summer of 2022. He’s only 30 years old.

Kyle Hudlin just may be one of the tallest soccer players in the world. We certainly wouldn’t want to go up against him on the pitch! It makes sense that the young Hudlin, at just 22 years old, has been fought over by various teams since he first signed with Solihull Moors in 2020. He’s now on loan to AFC Wimbledon! And here’s no telling where his talent — and height — will eventually take him.