Did you know a goalkeeper at the 2026 World Cup is originally from Havering?
Owen Goodman, a goalkeeper for Canada, was born on November 27, 2003 in Harold Wood.
Whilst multiple sources including Worldfootball.net specify Goodman's birthplace as Harold Wood, in a May 2026 interview with Canadian broadcaster OneSoccer, Goodman said: "I was born in England. I was born in Romford."
Goodman spent five years in Havering before his family emigrated to Canada, settling first in Toronto and then in the small Ontario town of Alliston.
He recounts how he began his football journey in Canada before returning to England - swapping east London for south London - and joining Crystal Palace's academy at U13 level.
He signed his first professional contract with Crystal Palace in July 2021 and has remained a Palace player ever since.
His first senior loan spell was at Colchester United in League Two in the 2023/24 season, where he made 40 appearances
He then joined AFC Wimbledon in the following season, again in League Two, where he played every one of the 54 competitive fixtures and kept 25 clean sheets - including three consecutively in the play-offs - to win the EFL League Two Golden Glove and promotion to League One with the Dons.
He headed to Huddersfield Town for the 2025/26 League One season before a mutual agreement to terminate his loan early in January 2026.
Barnsley were the latest club to have Goodman between the sticks from January this year and he made 22 starts and kept five clean sheets in League One.
By the time the World Cup had arrived, he has racked up more than 100 senior professional appearances at the age of just 22.
Wearing the squad number 18, Goodman was a substitute in Canada's opening two games of the World Cup against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar.
Share