And just like that, the World cup group stages have come to an end.
We’ll forever cherish the beauty of the three games per day format. Waking up to football and then having an excuse not to leave the couch for the rest of the day? Football heritage, right there.
Oh yeah, the football. That was pretty good too. Particularly the goalkeepers. Here are the top 10 best performing stoppers from the final round of group stage action, in the eyes of 90min.
Simon was, admittedly, woeful as Spain fell to a shock defeat against Japan.
When you want your goalkeeper to take risks on the ball, you should expect errors, but Simon was so poor. Constantly misplacing passes and putting teammates under pressure, and then failed to keep out a straightforward shot.
No calamities from Gonda as his side further established themselves as the giant killers in Qatar, but Spain being Spain meant he was actually rather quiet.
Simply not tested enough.
A moment’s silence, please, for Mexico and therefore Ochoa’s World Cup exit.
The man who spawned in only to appear at the World Cup once every four years and turn into prime Lev Yashin has probably played in the tournament for the final time. It’s been one hell of a ride, Guillermo.
They lost on the day and ultimately finished last, but Al-Owais and his Saudi Arabia teammates exit the World Cup with their heads held high.
He produced 11 saves against Mexico to keep the score down to just 2-1.
No movement for Milinkovic-Savic, who put together an impressive campaign for himself between the sticks for Serbia despite their early exit. There’s only so much one man can do.
Arsenal have got themselves quite the keeper, haven’t they?
Not his most exciting hour against Iran, but Turner crucially claimed another clean sheet and continues to solidify himself as a very, very handy asset and key to the fortunes of the USMNT.
Mendy produced four saves to ensure Senegal saw off Ecuador in Group A and advanced to the last 16. He’ll need to continue his impressive resurgence if they are to get past England.
The ultimate World Cup superhero story continues.
Noppert is…
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