World Cup 2022 | Who is the strongest goalkeeper in the semi-finals? “The most complete is Bounou”

Lionel Messi and the Argentinian, Moroccan, Croatian and French goalkeepers. Here are the heroes of the quarter-finals of a World Cup “extraordinaire” for the goalkeepers, according to the first report drawn up this Monday by the FIFA study group. A statistic figures the increase in their influence on the fate of the match. From 2018 to 2022, the percentage of penalties stopped at the FIFA Cup world has gone from 25 to 34%, i.e. more than a third now.

Dominik Livakovic (Croatia), Yassine Bounou (Morocco) are the main reasons why their selections reached the semi-finals. Hugo Lloris (France) and Emiliano Martinez (Argentina) hovered over the quarters and saved the skin of two great nations in peril. Christophe Lollichon, former Chelsea goalkeeper coach then responsible for their development for 15 years, dissects for us the strengths and weaknesses of the four goalkeepers still in competition. Four men that Lollichon knows very well. According to him, one of them quite clearly stands out. Bad news for the Blues, it is Yassine Bounou who will stand on the road to the French on Wednesday in Doha.

Yassine Bounou (FC Sevilla) – Morocco: “The most complete”

“He’s the most complete of the four. I studied him because I made him a potential target for Chelsea and two years ago Sevilla weren’t really a fan of him anymore. He really stands out with the other three because that Bounou is not in his comfort zone. He is a goalkeeper who is in anticipation and he favors a large number of interventions thanks to a hyper judicious positioning. Bounou has made enormous progress in his kicking game In the short game, I even saw him make a feint, that is to say if he is not afraid.You can see that his teammates have extraordinary confidence in him.

I never focus on the stops but it is clear that it takes up space, a lot of space. He is 1.95m but, in addition, by his positions, his work and that of his defense are made easier. Thanks to him, the Moroccans do not defend by retreating unlike other teams who suffered in the semi-finals.

As such, of the four goalkeepers still present, he is the one who has the greatest influence on the course of his team. Before, he had concentration errors but it’s over. Today, he shines and, if he continues, it will be complicated for the France team, especially for everything that the Blues will try in depth because he plays high.”

Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) – France: “On his line, one of the best in the world”

“I saw the controversy started by English journalists who preferred Jordan Pickford to Hugo Lloris. But the English journalists who judge the goalkeepers are as good as the English goalkeepers… It’s absolutely ridiculous. Pickford is extremely average and that shows the level of specialists in England. As soon as one of them makes four saves and multiplies that over a few matches, he is selectable… On Giroud’s second goal, Pickford is almost behind his line when Griezmann crosses…

Hugo was good against the English even if he is a little lucky on the outing against Kane because he goes too fast on the ground. On his line, Hugo is one of the best in the world. We can compare him to Jan Oblak, he is now stronger than David De Gea in this area. This is its strength. In the air domain, there is a little more. But he is miles away from Bounou in foot control.

Afterwards, he was trained like that and we don’t ask him anything else. Hugo fulfills his role perfectly. In 143 selections, he never really cost a match, it’s huge. He has remarkable consistency and is a great stabilizer in the locker room. Mike Maignan is more complete but Didier Deschamps has no interest in putting it on given what Hugo gives off. In the aerial field, he is far, his kicking game is weak: so what? Later, with Maignan or Ilan Meslier: we will switch to another software.”

Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb) – Croatia: “He plays too low and puts himself in a difficult situation”

“He saved four penalties, two of which were really not easy. In terms of his placements, he is average but he has gained a lot of confidence. For me, he plays too low and puts himself in a difficult situation. But Livakovic is very calm and does not give many solutions to the attackers. He too was very influential. What I remember from his match against Brazil is his Olympian calm.

He’s a goalkeeper I knew. But with a height of 1.88m, it is not big enough for me. I followed him irregularly, he hadn’t bluffed me with a few mistakes in his reading of the game. He’s not a proactive goalkeeper like Bounou, he suffers more. But the context, the group life, the challenge, the pressure: all of this has raised his level and his tournament is excellent. But the older ones are able to do that all the time.”

Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) – Argentina: “He is no longer in a comfortable situation”

“He’s having a World Cup that suits him. I watched Emiliano the first time on reserve with Arsenal against Chelsea reserve, a very long time ago. First I was like, ‘What a hell of a body type. At Arsenal, he quickly got a good salary and he didn’t do what it took to be number 1. At that time, Petr Cech was the starter at Arsenal and told him: ‘Move yourself’. is a goalkeeper who has qualities.

At Aston Villa, he is having a very decent season since he is finally playing and he is no longer in a comfortable situation. I find him reassuring because he is sure of his qualities. He has a lot of influence in the air domain. Against the Netherlands, he goes far to look for a very high ball, it proves his confidence. On the other hand, he backs up too much on the first goal and opens his cage. But he’s a regular keeper.”