Who’s the best goalkeeper left at Euro 2024?
Whether it’s keeping out a last-minute effort or becoming the hero in a penalty shootout, goalkeepers invariably play a key role at any major tournament.
That has been the case this summer at the European Championships in Germany. A number of elite goalkeepers have been on show and with three knockout matches already going to a shootout, there have been heroes and villains aplenty. What’s more, with some of the most highly-fancied nations struggling to find the right balance in attack, their goalkeepers have had to pull out a few vital saves to keep their hopes alive.
So, with the semi-finals about to begin, it’s probably a good time to rank the four remaining starting goalkeepers at Euro 2024:
4. Bart Verbruggen
It’s important to get one thing straight before we start. Finishing fourth on this list is not something to be ashamed of; the standard is incredibly high. In fact, the Netherlands simply wouldn’t have made the semi-finals were it not for the efforts of Bart Verbruggen.
The youngest goalkeeper at Euro 2024 at 21 years old, Verbruggen already seems to be emulating great Dutch goalkeepers of years gone by like Edwin van der Sar and Hans van Breukelen, making 15 saves this summer so far, with only three goalkeepers managing more.
Verbruggen has kept two clean sheets and conceded five goals in Germany so far, with his standout moment undoubtedly the incredible close-range save to deny Semih Kilicsoy in the dying minutes of the Netherlands’ 2-1 win over Turkey in the quarter-finals.
Among goalkeepers to play more than once at Euro 2024, Verbruggen’s pass completion rate of 83.97% is second only to Portugal’s Diogo Costa (88%).
Whether it’s building from the back or keeping the ball out of the net, Verbruggen looks like a future goalkeeping great, which will come as no surprise to Brighton supporters.
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3. Unai Simon
Unai Simon has been prone to the odd error in the past but he’s been excellent at Euro 2024 so far and a vital cog in the Spanish machine. The only game he has missed this summer was La Roja’s final group game against Albania when they’d already qualified, meaning Luis de la Fuente chose to give Arsenal stopper David Raya a run.
Simon has kept two clean sheets across his four appearances with just two goals conceded despite facing 5.39 expected goals on target, while Florian Wirtz is the only opposition player to find a way past him thus far. His most impressive appearance has come in Spain‘s 3-0 win over Croatia in their opening game, where Simon became the first player in the tournament to save a penalty and keep a clean sheet.
The Athletic Club goalkeeper’s tournament in Germany has been more about big saves at important moments rather than being overly worked, with Spain dominating most of their games so far. However, he’s delivered the goods right when his nation has needed him. And what of those customary mistakes? Well, Simon has yet to make an error leading to a shot or goal.
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2. Jordan Pickford
Jordan Pickford has been criminally underrated for years and, without him, Everton simply wouldn’t be a Premier League team anymore. Of course, he’s famously always given his best for England, whether through eye-catching saves at key moments in big games or standing tall in penalty shootouts.
Prior to Euro 2024, Pickford had already made saves in shootouts against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, Switzerland at the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League Finals, and Italy in the Euro 2020 final. Now, he’s added the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland to that list, keeping Manuel Akanji out to help guide the Three Lions to a 5-3 shootout win. Those water bottle notes have come in handy once again.
👀💧 Pickford’s water bottle for the shootout… ‘Akanji, dive left’. pic.twitter.com/Kp7zOH2cb6
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 6, 2024
Of course, it’s not just in shootouts where Pickford shines. The 30-year-old has made 12 saves and conceded just three goals at the tournament so far, while he’s often been on his toes to sweep up behind the England backline despite long periods of not really being in the game.
Like Verbruggen, Pickford is and has long been elite with the ball at his feet, completing more passes (152), long passes (42) and final third passes (9) than any other goalkeeper at Euro 2024.
England’s memorable semi-final and final runs of the Southgate era just wouldn’t be possible without Pickford who, as mentioned, is ridiculously overlooked in the pantheon of goalkeepers.
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1. Mike Maignan
Mike Maignan has been linked to become Manuel Neuer’s successor at Bayern Munich and if anything, this has been an incredible audition on German soil.
Despite playing the joint-highest number of games of any goalkeeper at Euro 2024 (5), Maignan is out on his own with the fewest goals conceded, with a retaken Robert Lewandowski penalty the only thing to breach him so far — and even that was after he saved the original effort. Naturally, that also means he’s out in front for clean sheets as well with four.
Many goalkeepers often see their goals conceded and clean sheet numbers padded by playing for a dominant team but while France have based their Euro 2024 run so far on defensive solidity, they’ve by no means been air-tight. In fact, Maignan is second only to Georgia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili (30) for saves (16), facing 5.01 expected goals on target. That in itself makes that one penalty goal conceded even more impressive. And it probably goes without saying that Maignan has been solid with the ball at his feet, completing 81.9% of his passes.
There were fears a couple of years ago that France might struggle to replace long-term goalkeeping hero Hugo Lloris but if anything, Maignan has proven himself even better. The AC Milan man is now undoubtedly among Europe’s best and will be hellbent on emulating Lloris with a major international tournament medal.
