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Safest hands

Ben KnightJuly 6, 2014

The World Cup has been marked by some top goalkeeping, with the fans of at least five countries with a fair claim to having the best gloveman. But who really has the safest hands?

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WM 2014 Achtelfinale Griechenland Costa Rica Tor
Image: Reuters

It's been a swashbuckling World Cup (at least in the early stages) for many reasons: frenetic goal-fests, imploding World Champions, extremely passionate Mexican coaches, flying Dutchmen - both good (Robin van Persie) and evil (Arjen Robben) - spectacular admirably performances like Costa Rica and the USA.

But of all the individual performances that have lit up the tournament so far, perhaps the men with the gloves have been the most eye-catching - not least because many of them have risen from the lower reaches of unfancied leagues. That was most clear when the world outside Mexico (and one sleepy town on Corsica) suddenly became aware of the energetic Guillermo Ochoa, who turned in a superlative performance in the 0-0 draw against Brazil in the group stages.

WM 2014 Achtelfinale Niederlande
Mexico's Ochoa pulled off some miraculous reflex savesImage: picture-alliance/dpa

His series of close-range saves against Neymar and co. gave Mexico the point they needed to secure second spot in Group A behind the hosts. Ochoa went on to keep the Netherlands out until the 88th minute of a game that Mexico so nearly closed out. And yet "Memo" - a bouncy cartoon-like figure with his curly hair and headband - is apparently still looking for a job after being relegated from Ligue 1 in France last season with Ajaccio.

Nigeria's Vincent Enyeama - who also earns his daily bread in France, for Lille - was similarly impressive, particularly against Bosnia-Herzegovina, before keeping his side in the tight encounter against France for longer than expected with fine saves.

The new US Secretary of Defense

And then there was Tim Howard's astonishing rear-guard action for the USA against Belgium in the second round. Howard did much more than set a new World Cup record with 16 saves in one match - he galvanized his team as they resisted the Belgian onslaught, and all but inspired a nation to appreciate the glory of a non-scoring game.

One over-excited Internet wag briefly installed Howard as US Defense Secretary on Wikipedia, a stunt that gave the Everton stopper a phone call from incumbent Chuck Hagel and an invitation to the Pentagon.

Costa Rica's Keylor Navas has been similarly fantastic, getting through Saturday's quarter-final having conceded two goals from five games - one penalty against Uruguay and the other Greece's last-gasp effort in the last 16. He showed the same form in the showdown against the Netherlands - his save from Wesley Sneijder's first-half free-kick was particularly show-stopping.

For much of the match, the few times when the Dutch managed to crack Costa Rica's superbly disciplined offside trap, Navas was there to block the efforts of Van Persie, Robben, and Sneijder.

Fußball WM 2014 Deutschland Frankreich Viertelfinale
Neuer has arguably been Germany's best playerImage: Reuters

The Bayern Wall

But while all these shot-stoppers have shone, you could argue that they were forced into their heroism by the rickety defense in front of them. Belgium's Thibaut Courtois - the outstanding keeper last season in Europe for Atletico Madrid - for instance, might point out that most of his work was done for him by the likes of Vincent Kompany and Daniel Van Buyten.

But if there is a debate, it would be hard to argue that anyone has been better than Manuel Neuer. The strapping German from Bayern Munich has been so dominant that he has come close to redefining the goalkeeper's role itself - most obviously when he virtually doubled as sweeper against Algeria in Germany's second-round game - his brilliantly-timed sliding tackle in the first half will live long in German hearts.

While that sounds like hyperbole, Neuer's footballing ability - he sometimes plays outfield in training - has clearly influenced Joachim Löw's tactical thoughts, allowing the coach to push his central defenders high up the pitch and help out in midfield. And, Neuer is the one great keeper on the list still in the competition.