Neville played internationally for Wales, winning a record 92 International caps between 1982 and 1998, though he did not feature in any major international competitions. As an individual, he was named on the PFA Team of the Year four consecutive times, and was listed as one of the world’s top ten goalkeepers by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics on four occasions. Neville is a member of the Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame. In addition, Neville has been named as one of the 100 ‘Greatest Players of the 20th Century’ by World Soccer magazine. In 1995 he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to football.
Neville Southall’s first appearance at Wembley was in the League Cup final against Liverpool, and he kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw. The replay was held at Maine Road, and Liverpool won the tie 1–0 with a Graeme Souness goal. He was rarely called into action in the 1984 FA Cup Final, and kept a clean sheet as Everton claimed the trophy with a 2–0 victory over Watford.
Southall kept a clean sheet at Wembley in the 1984 FA Charity Shield, as Everton beat Liverpool 1–0 to take home the first silverware of the 1984–85 season. They then lost the opening two league games of the season, before losing only three of their next 37 league games to win the First Division title by a 13-point margin. Neville Southall made one particularly crucial save from a point-blank Mark Falco header in a 2–1 win over title chasers Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on 3 April; the Daily Mail’s Jeff Powell described it as “the most astonishing save since Gordon Banks left Pelé dumbfounded in Mexico”. At the end of the 1985 season Southall was named as the FWA Footballer of the Year, becoming only the first Everton player, second Welshman and fourth goalkeeper to win the award.
Neville Southall was renowned for his shot-stopping ability, particularly in dealing with one-on-one situations, quickly coming off his line to intimidate the onrushing forward and relying on his instinctive reactions to save the ball. Neville would spend hours reading books about boxing and golf to improve his balance and spring, and would focus on improving minor pieces of kit and behaviour, saying that “If I changed 100 things and got 1% better because of one of them, then it was worth it”.
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