Four goalkeepers at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar semi-finals have dug deep into their reserves of resilience, courage and self-belief to put themselves within two matches of sporting immortality. The four men between the sticks include; Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez, 30; Dominik Livakovic of Croatia, 27; France’s Hugo Lloris, 27 and Yassine Bounou of Morocco, 31. These four men have been at the thick of actions, ensuring their countries are counted among the last four standing.
To reach this stage of the competition, of course, these four teams also needed their key outfield players to deliver. But without these safe hands between the sticks keeping their goal areas safe, perhaps, the stories may have been different. Argentina, Croatia, France and Morocco have each seen their inspirational goalkeepers produce moments of brilliance to keep their dreams alive. Here are the four gallant men who are still standing while the other 28 that started the race with them have all gone home to watch the rest of the tournament on televisions in their living rooms.
Emiliano Martinez – Argentina
Age: 30
Caps: 24
Qatar 2022 Clean Sheets: 2
Qatar 2022 Goals Conceded: 5
Emiliano Martinez boasts a range of high-level technical attributes, but it is his infectious charisma and visceral passion for La Albiceleste which has seen him emerge as a cult hero in his homeland.
This status was cemented during Argentina’s Copa America 2021 triumph. Martinez saved three penalties in their semi-final shootout victory – his incessant chatter seemingly unsettling Colombia’s spot-kick takers – before delivering a flawless display in a famous 1-0 final win over Brazil at the Maracana.
Martinez has stepped up to the mark again in Qatar, delivering a series of accomplished performances and providing stirring leadership as the last line of defence. He enhanced his reputation as a penalty specialist with fine saves from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis in Argentina’s quarter-final shootout win over the Netherlands.
Martinez has only been on the losing side once in his 24 Argentina appearances – the 2-1 Qatar 2022 group-stage defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Dominik Livakovic – Croatia
Age: 27
Caps: 39
Qatar 2022 Clean Sheets: 2
Qatar 2022 Goals Conceded: 3
Back in 2018, Dominik Livakovic was an enthusiastic supporter from the substitutes’ bench when Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was the nation’s penalty-shootout hero in World Cup wins over Denmark and Russia.
Livakovic has taken up the mantle – and then some – at Qatar 2022. The Dinamo Zagreb player has starred in their knockout-stage victories on penalties over Japan and Brazil. Across the two shootouts, only three spot-kick attempts out of eight against Livakovic were scored.
Even aside from the penalty drama, Livakovic has arguably been Croatia’s standout performer at the tournament so far, having put together a highlight reel of outstanding saves. Livakovic’s athletic interventions helped keep Brazil’s attacking superstars at bay throughout their gripping quarter-final. Indeed, his 11 saves were the most any goalkeeper has made in a World Cup contest since 2014.
Livakovic’s performance against Brazil saw him become just the 15th player in the history of prestigious French sports newspaper L’Equipe to be awarded a 10/10 rating.
Hugo Lloris – France
Age: 35
Caps: 143
Qatar 2022 Clean Sheets: 0
Qatar 2022 Goals Conceded: 5
The vastly experienced Hugo Lloris brings calm, authority and quality to a France squad boasting world-class talent in abundance. He has already made history at Qatar 2022, having overtaken 1998 World Cup winner Lilian Thuram as his country’s record appearance-holder. The Tottenham Hotspur keeper achieved the milestone in France’s tense 2-1 quarter-final victory over England, during which his enduring quality was on show when producing eye-catching saves from club-mate Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham either side of half-time.
Lloris is aiming to become the first player ever to captain his team to consecutive World Cup triumphs.
Lloris has recorded an impressive 62 clean sheets in his 143 senior France appearances.
Yassine Bounou – Morocco
Age: 31
Caps: 50
Qatar 2022 Clean Sheets: 3
Qatar 2022 Goals Conceded: 1
A sensational shot-stopper, Yassine Bounou is one of this history-making Morocco team’s stellar names.
The Sevilla keeper has been nigh-on unbeatable at Qatar 2022, with Nayef Aguerd’s own-goal in the Atlas Lions’ 2-1 group-stage win over Canada the only time he has conceded.
Bounou’s penalty saves in their last-16 shootout success over Spain will live long in the memory, but his most spectacular stop came in their 1-0 victory against Portugal. Joao Felix’s venomous swerving drive looked destined to draw Fernando Santos’s team level late on, but the brilliant Bounou miraculously tipped the effort over the crossbar.
In March 2021, Bounou scored his first professional goal. The 6ft 4ins keeper clinically smashed in a 94th-minute equaliser for Sevilla in a La Liga clash at Real Valladolid.
