The average height for a men’s goalkeeper at the upcoming World Cup will be 6 ft 3. That’s a whole 7 inches larger than the tallest women’s keeper at the Euros this summer – a forks length.
Football is a game of fine margins sometimes, and even a fork can make all the difference. There’s no better painstaking example than Georgia Stanway’s thumping winner in extra-time against Spain, sending England to the semis. Sandra Paños was millimetres from getting a hand to it. It looked like one of those shots that – if it didn’t nestle in the back of the net – would’ve kept on rising and rising forever.
Paños had drifted too far left between the sticks. Deceived into thinking Stanway was going to stretch the ball out to the wing for Hemp, the Spain number 1 couldn’t adjust. Stanway sweetly rocketed it back across her, and the Amex stadium went simply wild.
“Dodgy keeper” and “A bloke would’ve just caught it”, amongst others, really do leave a stain underneath replays of that triumphant goal. Sure, a 6 ft 4 David de Gea might’ve tipped it round the post; hell, maybe the 6 ft 7 Thibaut Courtois could’ve just plucked the shot right out of the air. But this is the women’s game, and without the agility and speed of a smaller keeper – combined with Paños’ comfortable close control – a well drilled, tiki-taka team like Spain may not have even made it to the quarters if it wasn’t for their number 1.
There’s a reason why over 9 million people (bbc and iplayer) tuned in to watch the tournament’s first quarter-final – that’s just in the UK, by the way. Both the men’s and the women’s game offers unique entertainment – let’s just enjoy them both.
For most of the 90, England were suffocated. Both teams mirrored each other’s tactics from the group games – Jorge Vilda’s Spain doing it that bit better. They forced the Lionesses to play right into their hands until the equaliser, which completely shifted the momentum of the tie.
In minute 83, England were a fantastic example of how to utilise a more nimble goalkeeper. Man United’s Mary Earps, began the move for the Lionesses’ equalising goal with a clever short pass into the full-back. Given there was only 10 minutes to go, surely there were many fans urging her to punt it long? Earps had known better. Sarina Wiegman’s side strung together 11 passes in the build up to that equaliser, admirable composure from a group of girls who were only 7 minutes away from a national embarrassment.
Wiegman wouldn’t budge for anything, remaining vigilant until the end. Every player, including the keeper, must: look up, find the space and pass it on. Earps wouldn’t resort to clearing her lines even after England took the lead late on, opting for close distribution instead. The back 4 spread wide for her and she would play it short, every time.
6 out of the 8 teams that progressed into the knockouts at Euro 2022 preferred to keep possession for as long as possible, rather than relying on counter attacks and balls over the top. And now – with the more direct Austria knocked out yesterday by Germany – it looks more and more likely that a ball retaining side will go on and win the tournament.
England and Spain stick out like sore thumbs as the slowest and most patient passers, with the two averaging between 4 and 4.5 passes per sequence. Having a sprightly keeper, who can quickly recycle the ball onto both flanks, is vital to resisting a high press – it was clear to see on Wednesday night at the Amex as both keepers looked really sharp on the ball. the Spaniards were unlucky to lose.
Any team can keep the ball from their opponent, but to do it brilliantly you also need a switched on, agile keeper who’s good with their feet. According to The Analyst, Spain have the 2nd highest number of pressed sequences at the tournament with 97, meaning they’re very good at breaking down attacks in their own half.
They were also by far the most relentless pressers, with a passes per defensive action of 7.5 (the lower the figure, the higher the intensity of pressing). If England’s Earps was a more traditional goalkeeper – seen more frequently in the men’s game – often hoofing it long and being more vulnerable under pressure, it could’ve been the Lionesses that were dumped out of the tournament on Wednesday, instead of Spain.
A well known example of a ball playing keeper lies in men’s football – Manchester City’s Ederson. By far the most intricately passing team in the Premier League, City average just over 5 passes per sequence. When playing a pressing team (like Liverpool), they use Ederson, a lot, to free up another passing option in defence.
When he first joined the club from Benfica in 2017, pundits were astounded – not only by his ability to ping the ball 70 yards over the defence and into a runner – but by his ice cool short passing and ball control under pressure from attackers, sometimes even a back heel or two as well.
Today, both men’s and women’s goalkeepers aspire to be just as good with their feet as they are at blocking shots and preventing goals. Notice that the best teams at Euro 2022 – as well as opting to pass the ball around more – field an agile, possession minded keeper. We could mention them all, but that’d take forever.
Looking back to Wednesday night’s quarter-final one last time, Sky Sports described England’s Earps as “confident and comfortable”, going on to add she was: “often pressured by the Spain frontline but by and large dealt with it brilliantly.”
If you’re new to watching Euro 2022 in these more exciting knockout rounds, look at the added responsibilities of a smaller, nimbler goalie. Notice how the successful ones relieve pressure from their defenders, recycle possession, and even sometimes pose as the first line of attack.
Belgium play Sweden tonight in the 3rd quarter final – look no further for a brilliant stopper. Nicky Evrard of Belgium has arguably carried her team all this way. In Belgium’s final group game against Italy (1-0 win), she faced 6 shots on target equalling an expected goals value of 2, meaning her saves prevented Italy from scoring twice. Without her, they would’ve likely lost 2-1 and bowed out of the competition there and then.
It’s easy to pin the blame on a keeper, especially if you don’t watch the sport regularly. But just remember, it’s not all about size. A keeper has to be a jack of all trades, especially in this modern game that we all love to analyse, from front to back.
