UEFA Euro 2024: Goalkeepers take the centre stage as the Euros progress towards the final stages

New Delhi: In the final two days of the UEFA Euro 2024 final-16 knockout, goalkeepers decided the game and took away the centre spot. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty to miss out ona chance to become the oldest goal-scorer in the tournament. It speaks volumes about the players with the gloves as they have taken the lead and are standing toe to toe against someof the best attackers in the world. There have been some incredible goalkeeping performances this campaign with teams heavily relying on the individual standing behind the backline.

Euro 2020 saw Gianluigi Donnarumma win the player of the campaign award where he led the Azzuri to Euro title after producing some pf the best performances of his career. This was the first time a keeper won the player of the season award as Donnarumma saw his name written in the history books of Euros. This could very much be repeated this season as some of the shot stoppers have produced wonderful performances.

Some games have witnessed a goalkeeper single-handedly winning the game for his side, making some crucial saves to keep the opposition out. Here are some of the impressive goalkeepers of the tournament.

Giorgi Mamardashivli (Georgia)

One of the most exciting goalkeeping prospects, Giorgi Mamardashivli has proved to be a talismanic presence for Georgia. Despite the elimination of the impressive Georgian side, the 23-year-old shot stopper had some unforgettable performances in the group stages.

Georgia’s debut campaign started with a loss against Turkey, where they conceded three goals and looked less convincing. That sparked a brilliant response from the side and particularly their keeper, Mamardashivli, who produced some wonderful performances as the tournament progressed.

His man of the match performance against Czech Republic saw him making some unbelievable saves to keep his side levelled as their team was unable to go forward and create any sort of threat. The towering keeper made his presence felt in a famous victoy against the mighty Portugal. He was there again to make some wonderful saves to frustrate the opposition strikers as they just couldn’t put the ball past the Georgian keeper. He left Cristiano Ronaldo and his side frustrated as Georgia won the match 2-0 to qualify for the round of 16 in their debut campaign.

Jan Oblak (Slovenia)

Over the years, Jan Oblak has established himself as one of the very best goalkeepers of this generation. The Atletico Madrid veteran has been a commanding figure for his club and now he has proved his importance as Slovenian leader. The 31-year-old made some fantastic saves that led to Slovenia’s unforgettable campaign where they reached the knockout stages for the very first time in their history. The Slovenian shot stopper was a crucial figure for his side against the Portuguese team when he made some good saves to keep the game deadlocked.

However, the main highlight of the game was his penalty save in the 105th minute of the match, where he was up against Cristiano Ronaldo. The veteran keeper went the right way to make a wonderful stop to deny Ronaldo his first goal of this Euro campaign. Despite his team going out after a historic run, Oblak’s performances and his leadership were few of the main factors behind Slovenia’s dream run.

Diogo Costa (Portugal)

Diogo Costa was having a pretty quite campaign until the knockout stages as he was barely tested by the opposition teams during the group stages. However, the 24-year-old Porto goalkeeper single handedly took his nation to next round of Euro 2024 after producing a match winning performance against Slovenia in the round of 16. He made a crucial stop in the 115th minute of the game when Pepe’s slip left him in a vulnerable 1v1 situation against Benjamin Sesko. He blocked the shot as Sesko was looking to hurl the ball beyond him to give Slovenia a late advantage.

Later, as the game progressed through to penalty shootout, Costa produced a hat-trick of saves to sink Slovenia and confirm Portugal’s ticket to the quarter finals. He will be looking to continue this run of form into the next stages as he would prove out to be a crucial figure for Portugal.

Mert Gunok (Turkey)

The 35-year-old veteran shot stopper was phenomenal against a determined Austrian side as he looked unbeatable throughout the round of 16 tie. The Turkish team looked like they were hanging by a thread ever since they scored the second goal, as Austria kept on causing menace inside the Turkish box. However, it was their veteran goalkeeper Mert Gunok, who made sure that his side doesn’t lose a fragile lead against a highly threatening Austrian side.

His performance was top notch from the very beginning of the match as he made some crucial early saves. It just kept on getting better for the Besiktas goalkeeper as he produced a sharp save early into the second half where Arnautovic took a low shot which was kept out by the left foot of Mert Gunok.

The Austrians thought they had scored a late equaliser as Christoph Baumgartner, who was left unmarked, headed the ball towards the goal where Gunok was there to make a sensational save.

This last minute save turned out to be a match winner that saw Turkey through to the quarter finals while Austria were left shell shocked after that save.

 This Euro campaign has provided a lot of entertaining moments but the goalkeepers have truly taken the centre stage to produce some unbelievable moments that have led to their team’s success.  Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today