With the dust now settling on this summer’s EURO 2020 tournament, we pick out the top five keepers, in no particular order, with the help of ONE Glove director Rob Elliot…
Jordan Pickford (England)
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s been well documented that when Jordan has played for England, he’s been phenomenal. He barely put a foot wrong this summer and the only time he was really questioned was with the free-kick scored by Denmark’s Mikkel Damsgaard’s in the semi-final but that was a fantastic free-kick – it’s not like it dribbled into the bottom corner and he’s missed it. He was done by the dip and keeper’s don’t always see free-kicks until it’s come over the wall. He’d not conceded from open play until the final which is a very special stat. He proved a lot of people wrong.
Pickford Euro stand-out stats:
Saves: 16
Goals conceded: 2
Clean sheets: 5
Punches: 7
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)
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This guy is just a freak of nature. Since the age of 16 he’s been huge – a big guy who is really positive with everything he does. He comes for everything and although he doesn’t always get a good contact, if you’re a defender in the team and know your keeper’s coming with punches and touches and flicks, you can prepare for that that second ball. Aside from his penalty saves, his keeping in this tournament has mainly been about defending crosses and cut-backs, and with the two experienced centre-halves Italy have got, they’re a real formidable three.
Donnarumma Euro stand-out stats:
Goals conceded: 4
Clean sheets 3
Punches: 6
Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark)
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Schmeichel has been fantastic for Denmark and at 34, he just gets better and better with age. What I like about him is the fact that he’s really accomplished in what his strengths are. His distribution and shot stopping are exceptional and he doesn’t make many mistakes which is a really difficult thing to do – he’s the same with Leicester in the Premier League. Schmeichel did his level best to keep England out in the semi-final and he also deserves great credit for the way he conducted himself in light of Christian Eriksen’s collapse.
Schmeichel Euro stand-out stat:
Saves 18
Claims 8
Danny Ward (Wales)
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Most players enter tournaments based on good club form, which makes Danny’s fine performances at the Euros even more commendable. He’s hardly kicked a ball in four seasons of Premier League football as Kasper Schmeichel’s understudy at Leicester City, but came into this tournament as the undoubted number one for his country. That says a tremendous amount about his professionalism and the fact that he’s always ready to play. He did particularly well in the opening games against Switzerland and Turkey, and played a key role in the side getting to the knock-out stages.”
Ward Euro stand-out stats:
Saves 18
Claims: 10
Manuel Neuer (Germany)
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While Germany didn’t have the best of tournaments, with Neuer making just five appearances, he still showed in those games some of the traits that make him, arguably, the best keeper in the world. Some of the things he does, we’re so used to seeing it, but we forget just how specialist it is – his aggressively starting positions, for example. He’s always there at the top tournaments as Germany’s number one, always pushing the players around him and making sure they do well.
Neuer Euro stand-out stats:
Claims: 9
Saves: 5