Those Who Don’t Score but Still Decide: Rok Vodišek Highlights Goalkeepers to Watch at Euro 2024 in Germany

Published on 12. June 2024 12. June 2024

Photo: Pixabay

The legendary but sadly departed Miroslav Blažević once emphasized: “A goalkeeper may not win you the game in football, but he can make sure you don’t lose.” Staying undefeated is even more crucial in a major tournament where any loss can be fatal. Slovenian goalkeeper and our expert contributor Rok Vodišek, who himself has significant national team experience, has highlighted goalkeepers – one from each group of the regular stage – who, in his opinion, could most impact Euro 2024. The tournament in Germany will start on Friday, with Slovenia playing their first match on Sunday against Denmark.

Group A

Yann Sommer

He has had an excellent season with Inter Milan, winning the Scudetto. For many, his stellar performances in this season’s Serie A were surprising, but those of us who have followed him since his time with Basel, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Bayern know he is an outstanding goalkeeper. He stepped into the big shoes of his predecessors, our own Samir Handanović and later Andre Onana, but proved he was up to the challenge. Although relatively short for a goalkeeper (183 centimeters), he compensates for his lack of height with excellent positioning, incredible reflexes, and exceptional explosiveness.

This year, he also excelled in playing with his feet, which is crucial for Inter’s characteristic style of building up play from the goalkeeper. This season, he conceded only 19 goals in 34 Serie A matches and kept a clean sheet just as many times. His good form this season has undoubtedly given him extra confidence. He can put the finishing touch on an excellent club season at the European Championship, where his team competes in an interesting Group A with Germany, Scotland, and Hungary. Based on his current form, we can confidently say he is one of the best goalkeepers at this year’s Euro. That’s why I’ve highlighted him among the goalkeepers in Group A.

Group B

Gianluigi Donnarumma

We often forget that he is still a relatively young goalkeeper. Gianluigi Donnarumma was born in 1999, yet it seems like he’s been on the football scene forever. He has a wealth of experience for his age, having debuted for Milan at just 16. At the European Championship, he will also wear the captain’s armband for his country. Let’s not forget that they are the current European champions, defending their 2021 title. Italian fans are passionate and demanding, expecting nothing less than a repeat of their dream year in 2021 – winning the championship. Therefore, the pressure on the players is even greater. The newly appointed captain Donnarumma, who many Italian fans, especially Milan supporters, have not forgiven for leaving for PSG, will be under scrutiny.

At the Parisian club, he won the domestic championship for the third consecutive time this season and was named the best goalkeeper of the 2023/24 Ligue 1 season. Many casual observers mistakenly think he has little to do at such a dominant club as PSG, but that’s not true. He has plenty of opportunities to prove himself in almost every match, and he has maintained a high level of performance in most of them this season. However, he once again failed to win the much-coveted Champions League trophy. He can make up for this disappointment at the European Championship, where, as mentioned, he will defend the European title with his team.

Group C

Jan Oblak

There was no doubt about which goalkeeper to highlight in Group C. It is the captain of our national team, who plays a significant role not only on the field but also off it. His calmness gives additional confidence to his teammates, making the whole team better. Although this season at Atletico wasn’t his best since joining the club from the Spanish capital, he still showed some excellent performances and remarkable saves.

The man from Škofja Loka played all 38 La Liga matches this season, keeping 13 clean sheets. He is characterized by excellent reflexes, incredible calmness, and consistency, having performed at a high level for several seasons. He led the Slovenian team to their historic second qualification for the European Championship, and we all hope that our team’s fairy tale will continue in Germany. For that, we will also need excellent performances from our captain. But honestly, we have no doubts about this, as he has repeatedly proven that we have one of the best goalkeepers on the planet.

Group D

Mike Maignan

He has had some bad luck with injuries this season, but if Mike Maignan is ready, he will undoubtedly be the number one choice for the French national team. In recent years, he has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the Italian league and is, in my opinion, one of the most complete goalkeepers at the moment. He excels in playing with his feet, is confident with high balls, and is extremely quick and agile in goal. He is the prototype of a modern goalkeeper who dominates his penalty area with his presence.

Despite the aforementioned injuries, he made 29 appearances in the 2023/24 Serie A season, keeping clean sheets in eleven matches. He will undoubtedly be one of the key assets of a very strong French team, which, in terms of names and quality, certainly ranks among the favorites for this European Championship.

Group E

Andriy Lunin

He is one of the biggest goalkeeping revelations this season. If in past years he was just picking up scraps at Real Madrid, this season he has seized the opportunity presented by Thibaut Courtois’ injury. He played 21 matches in La Liga, keeping 10 clean sheets, and made 8 appearances in the Champions League, playing a crucial role in Real’s fifteenth triumph in the elite club competition. He is a reliable goalkeeper, excellent at shot-stopping and also good with his feet. I was particularly surprised by how well he performed right from the start, despite having very few playing minutes in previous seasons.

He grew from match to match and became even more reliable and confident. This will certainly benefit him at the European Championship, but it will be interesting to see which of the two Ukrainian goalkeepers the coach will choose. Besides Lunin, Anatoliy Trubin is also a serious candidate. Nevertheless, based on current form and an exceptional club season, it is likely that Lunin will start in goal.

Group F

Diogo Costa

Portugal has three excellent goalkeepers. Besides Costa, Rui Patricio from Roma and Jose Sa from Wolverhampton are also in the squad. However, the number one choice for the Portuguese team will be Porto’s goalkeeper, who played 33 matches in the league this season, keeping 14 clean sheets. I remember him from the U21 European Championship final held in Slovenia a few years ago. Portugal played against Germany in the final, and even then, Diogo Costa showed enormous potential.

Read also

He is a very modern goalkeeper, known for his excellent footwork. He will undoubtedly want to confirm his good club season in a major tournament. If he wants to

repeat Portugal’s dream year of 2016, when they became European champions, he will need to deliver excellent performances and be consistent throughout the tournament.

This text was automatically translated using AI.

Author: editorial Football Planet