Goalkeeper - FIFA Training Centre

Ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 final, we took a closer look at the standard of goalkeeping in general and the performances of Mouez Hassen of Tunisia and Raïs M'Bolhi of Algeria in particular.

The role of the goalkeeper has evolved hugely over the last decade and, as part of our FIFA Technical Study Group, our goalkeeping team had a particular focus on the roles keepers played within their teams, both in and out of possession, and in the fundamental components of the position.

The standard of goalkeeping across the tournament to date is something that pleased Pascal Zuberbühler. Here he discusses those standards and what he and his team were looking for:

Goalkeeper involvement in build-up

A key element of the goalkeeper's role that was examined by the TSG was how involved they were with their team in build-up. Was the goalkeeper offering to receive, were his team involving him in the build-up play?

Our experts took a closer look at the goalkeepers of our two finalists to examine how they compare against the metrics of analysis. The key question for the observers was: is the team building with 11, or are they only building with 10? As Zuberbühler explains:

Table 1: How often did the goalkeeper receive the ball? And how often was he involved in the build-up?

Distribution

While it's clear the role of the goalkeeper in their teams' build-up is important, so too is their range of quality distribution. The modern goalkeeper needs to be able to play short, find space and deliver balls between lines and be able to vary their play and go long depending on where the space is and the build-up philosophy of their coach.

It's important, therefore, that the goalkeeper can competently distribute the ball in different ways and with different passing/throwing techniques. When you compare the distribution of the goalkeepers of Tunisia and Algeria, it's clear that M'Bolhi has greater involvement the build-up, and he also shows good variety in how he distributes the ball.

Table 2: Goalkeeper distribution across the tournament

Table 3: How Hassen and M'Bolhi distributed the ball

Table 4: Completion rates and lines broken per successful distribution

Table 5: Hassen and M'Bolhi distribution success

Table 6: Hassen distribution direction breakdown, distances and completion rate

Table 7: M'Bolhi distribution direction breakdown, distances and completion rate

A key component of the distribution of the goalkeeper is their capacity to distribute the ball accurately both opposed and unopposed. It's also a game-changer if they can do this with both feet.

In the fewer minutes Mouez Hassen has played compared to M'Bolhi, he has retained possession well, and advances the ball further into opposition territory. This is also reflected in the data when line breaks per successful distribution are factored in.

Goalkeeper distances from the team

The positioning of the goalkeeper for shot-stopping is a fundamental dimension of their role, but it has become increasing relevant for the modern goalkeeper to be connected to their team in all moments of the game, not just when they are called upon to make a save.

When we assessed the distances between the goalkeepers and their last defensive lines, both in and out of possession, it was noted that both Mouez Hassen (Tunisia) and Raïs M'Bolhi (Algeria) rank among the goalkeepers that had the largest distances from their teams and were also consistently ranked among goalkeepers positioned deepest.

Table 8: Average goalkeeper height and distance to defensive line when the team are in possession

Table 9: Average goalkeeper height and distance to defensive line when the team are out of possession

Focusing on Tunisia's goalkeeper, Mouez, Zuberbühler discusses his influence on his team and believes he can be a key player in Saturday. In relation to Algeria's goalkeeper, Mbolhi, Zuberbuehler gives his thoughts on his impact so far in the tournament, particularly his confidence under pressure in their semi-final victory over Qatar.

Goal prevention

For all the contributions that the goalkeeper must now make for their team, the fundamentals of the role remain vital. Goals win games, but clean sheets win tournaments and the art of protecting the goal and stopping shots remain most important.

The biggest thing about a final is there can only be one winner. On Saturday there must be one. The penalty shootout could be a deciding factor. Zuberbühler explains how these are the moments that goalkeepers live for: