GOALKEEPERS KEEP SAVING THE DAY
SYDNEY—Australia goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold surely won a legion of fans with her steely-eyed heroics in Saturday’s quarterfinal penalty shootout victory at the Women’s World Cup.
Once the target of criticism in the women’s game, goalkeepers have been showstoppers Down Under with theatrical game-salvaging saves.
Arnold—known affectionately as “Macca”—saved three spot-kicks against France on Saturday, despite pinging her own penalty kick off the post.
Calling it the “craziest game” she had ever played in, the 29-year-old West Ham keeper had to stop Kenza Dali’s spot kick twice after the referee whistled Arnold had moved off her line.
“For Macca, missing that penalty and then staying in the game and being that player that wins the game for us, it’s unheard of,” raved Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson. “I mean, that mental strength of hers.”
Of the 60 games played through three rounds, goalkeepers have been named player of the match in nine of them, including Arnold.
The Philippines’ Olivia McDaniel was named Player of the Match in the team’s historic first World Cup win, a 1-0 thriller against New Zealand in the group stage.
Despite outstanding saves that preserved Sarina Bolden’s header, McDaniel later told reporters that the result, and her award, was a result of her teammates’ efforts.
“Being debutants in this World Cup, it can’t just be for yourself, it’s for everybody,” McDaniel said. “Every single person fought for this [win]. It’s not just a single person, it’s everybody.”
But goalkeepers saving the day has been quite the theme in this World Cup.
Netherlands coach Andries Jonker was full of praise for Daphne van Domselaar after the Aston Villa keeper’s string of saves against South Africa helped secure the Dutch a spot in the quarterfinals.
“Four years ago, there were goalkeepers that could not deal with the ball just under the bar and now we’ve got a whole generation of very athletic goalkeepers, who don’t let in that kind of ball,” Jonker said.
“Daphne is one of that new generation,” the coach added. “They’re athletic, they’re in good shape, they’ve got good positioning, so the developments in that area are incredible and the Netherlands are right along there.”
Nadine Angerer, who kept goal for Germany in their World Cup triumphs of 2003 and 2007, said there were clear signs of improved goal-keeping standards.
“We saw an absolute increase in decision-making to come out and then finally, the punching technique and the punching has improved,” she said.
Forty-six percent of teams have kept a clean sheet in a game, up from 33 percent from four years ago. And save percentages with the hands have risen from 74 percent to 78 percent despite there being more attempts at goal from within the penalty area.
“The positioning of the goalkeepers, they’re way more connected to the defense line, the positioning is higher, and the timing is better,” Angerer added. “They’re coming out more ruthless. And yeah, the technique itself is better, so that’s one area we saw big improvement.”
England’s Mary Earps was named Best Fifa Women’s Goalkeeper Award for 2022, and the Manchester United player has shown why at the World Cup. She conceded just one goal during a group stage in which the Lionesses outscored opponents 8-1, while leaping and diving in an array of dazzling saves.