Pick a side, time your dive, parry the ball, feel pure joy, celebrate with your team-mates and cheer with your fans who cannot stop rocking in the stands.
Goalkeeping has long been a niche position, but this singularity is accentuated during penalty shootouts. There is no centre-back to rely on; it is just them and the spot-kick taker.
Four of the eight matches played on Friday in the Round of 16 of the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ saw regulation time run out without a winner. This age group does not play extra time, instead they go straight to penalties. The atmosphere is filled with uncertainty, the adrenaline of a shot hitting the back of the net and the outbursts of joy that come with a save.
“When a game goes to penalties, it’s a massive boost for us goalkeepers,” said Chouaib Bellaarouch, who made two saves to knock out the United States. “Only one keeper can take the win, and I’m so glad it was me!”
It makes no difference how a match unfolded before reaching this decisive moment. It could be a last-ditch equaliser at the death, as was the case for Morocco, or a deadlocked 0-0 draw, like Brazil’s encounter with Paraguay. The only thing that matters now is from twelve yards.
“When I saw the player step up, I had one thought on my mind and that was to pull off a miracle and help my team-mates,” said Joao Pedro, after the Seleção had missed their first attempt. “It wasn’t over yet. At one point, there were two penalties left, and I had a feeling I could save one of them.”
The young Santos shot-stopper went one better, stopping three of Paraguay’s last four efforts to book their ticket to the next round.
Often labelled as a ‘lottery’, penalties can work in favour of the side that snatched a last-gasp equaliser as they take that momentum into the shootout.
That was certainly the case for Morocco’s Atlas Cubs, but not necessarily so for Argentina (who scored in the 87th minute) and Canada (85th minute), who faced Mexico and the Republic of Ireland respectively.
“I prefer it when the match is decided over 90 minutes, but when things go your way, it’s an amazing feeling,” said Ireland goalkeeper Alex Noonan.
“When I’m facing a penalty, I’m confident within myself. I wouldn’t be dreading it. It feel like it’a a strong part of my game.”
Keepers and penalty-takers alike have to do their homework to perform well. Sometimes, the two roles overlap, with a goalkeeper stepping to the spot, as was the case for Mexico.
“I regularly take penalties for my club, Toluca, so that boosted my confidence,” said the fourth hero of the evening, Santiago Lopez.
“I knew where I wanted to shoot, I stuck to my guns, and it paid off. I tend to be the fifth penalty taker. I enjoy feeling the pressure.”
As Moroccan striker Ziyad Baha explained, a team with a confident goalkeeper never has to worry. “When the final whistle blew to take us to penalties, we knew we were going to win. [Bellaarouch] showed what he can do in the Africa Cup of Nations in the semi-final and final (when Morocco won both games on penalties), so we were confident.”
“I keep telling him that he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world in his age group,” added his coach Nabil Baha. “He has a special knack for saving penalties. During training, the strikers get annoyed with him because he saves so many shots!”
