The Goalkeepers' World Cup

Strikers continue to decide games. Harry Kane keeps scoring. Erling Haaland continues to dominate. Lionel Messi keeps making history. Kylian Mbappé remains decisive. But in this World Cup, one position has gained unusual prominence: the goalkeeper.

This edition of the tournament is confirming what modern football has been hinting at for years: goalkeepers are no longer just the last line of defense. Today, they are often the first. The first to build play. The first to organize. The first to guide. And, above all, the first to instill confidence. During the group stage, we saw several errors in build-up play from the back. The insistence on playing short, a characteristic of modern football, exposed some teams and showed that the evolution of the position also brought new risks. Beyond that phase, the tournament revealed the other side of this transformation.

When the game gets tight, when the opponent dominates, and when chances come thick and fast, there's still one quality that no tactical approach can replace: the ability to save. And it was precisely there that goalkeepers once again took center stage.

This hasn't just been a World Cup of big stars. It has also been a World Cup for the men between the posts.

What's most interesting is that this evolution is no longer exclusive to footballing powerhouses. Even national teams with less competitive standing have showcased goalkeepers capable of deciding games and keeping their respective teams competitive for extended periods. Eloy Room for Curaçao. Mohammed Al-Owais for Saudi Arabia. Alireza Beiranvand for Iran. And Vozinha for Cape Verde.

Even in countries where footballing tradition, resources, and youth development structures remain far from the major European academies, the position has evolved remarkably. Many of these goalkeepers now compete in foreign leagues, train daily with highly specialized methodologies, and arrive at major competitions with a competitive level that would have been hard to imagine two decades ago. The result is clear to see: increasingly balanced games, more competitive teams, and goalkeepers capable of keeping national teams "alive" for ninety minutes.

For many years, it was said that smaller national teams survived thanks to their goalkeepers. This World Cup showed us something different. Today, many of them no longer just survive because of them; they compete thanks to them. And that explains, better than any statistic, the extraordinary evolution this position has undergone in the last two decades.

Among them all, Vozinha's case deserves special mention. The former Chaves goalkeeper far surpassed his sporting impact. His consistency throughout the World Cup and his performances against Spain and Messi's Argentina transformed him into one of the tournament's great figures, earning the admiration of fans from all corners of the globe. This notoriety was reflected on social media. He arrived at the tournament with fewer than 50,000 Instagram followers and, during the match against Spain, saw that number surpass one million in less than ninety minutes. The growth continued impressively. Today, he boasts 28 million followers, making him the most followed goalkeeper in the world, ahead of Manuel Neuer (15M), Thibaut Courtois (17.9M), Keylor Navas (19.1M), and Iker Casillas (20.4M). More than just a social media phenomenon, Vozinha became the symbol of an idea that this World Cup has confirmed: a great goalkeeper can elevate a national team, inspire a country, and earn worldwide recognition.

Portugal had in Diogo Costa the most complete example of this reality. I particularly highlight his performances against Colombia, Croatia, and Spain. In my opinion, alongside Renato Veiga, he was Portugal's most consistent player in the competition. On several occasions, he was the one who kept Portugal alive in matches.

Much was said about the unfortunate elimination against Spain. It's true there was a moment that could have changed the outcome – Nuno Mendes' shot hitting the crossbar. But it's also true that, before that, Diogo Costa had already prevented the inevitable on several occasions.

There are times when we attribute to luck what, in reality, was competence. What impresses me most about Diogo Costa – and this is easily understood by anyone who follows FC Porto – was never just what he does. It's what he provokes. When a goalkeeper instills confidence, the entire team plays differently. Center-backs take more risks. Full-backs push higher. Midfielders press higher. Fans breathe easier.

There are effects in football that never appear in statistics. They don't show up on heat maps. They aren't included in performance reports. But they are felt. Diogo Costa is one of those players. He changes the behavior of an entire team without needing to constantly touch the ball. Technically, he represents almost the perfect portrait of the modern goalkeeper. He's quick between the posts. He dominates aerial play. He reads depth intelligently. He comes off his line at the right moment. He's strong in one-on-one situations. He's a penalty-saving specialist. And he possesses a quality with his feet that allows him to participate in build-up play as if he were another element of the defensive line.

He's not just a goalkeeper who prevents goals. He's a goalkeeper who allows the team to play better. But to reduce Diogo Costa to his technical qualities would be profoundly unfair. Because what truly distinguishes him cannot be captured in a scouting report. It's his serenity. It's his personality. It's his ability to transmit calm when everyone else feels pressure.

This isn't just a Portuguese perception. Long before he definitively took over FC Porto's goal, Iker Casillas saw in him the goalkeeper capable of succeeding him. It wasn't just any compliment. It came from a European and World champion. From one of the best goalkeepers in history. Someone who knew and knows, like few others, the weight of that position.

Today, I struggle to find three goalkeepers better than Diogo Costa. And, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see him, in the near future, take over the goal for any of Europe's biggest clubs. The way he interprets the game, his quality in build-up, the serenity with which he handles moments of greatest pressure, and his ability to decide matches, he would naturally fit into teams like Luis Enrique's Paris Saint-Germain, where the goalkeeper is a fundamental piece in the first phase of build-up; at FC Bayern Munich, when the inevitable moment of Manuel Neuer's succession arrives; or even at Real Madrid CF, as one of the natural candidates to take over the goal when Thibaut Courtois' cycle ends.

I say this not because I wish to see him leave FC Porto. Quite the opposite. As a symbol, captain, and one of the greatest references in the Porto dressing room, his permanence would, in itself, be one of the best pieces of news the blue and white fans could receive. But there are players whose talent inevitably transcends borders. And Diogo Costa undoubtedly belongs to the elite of world goalkeepers.

As for the Golden Glove, it's likely the award will end up in the hands of the goalkeeper from the champion team. The history of the competition shows that this often happens. But if the criterion were solely the impact each goalkeeper had on their team's journey, my choice would be different. I would give it to Morocco's Bono or "our" Diogo Costa.

Goals will always decide games. And they will also ultimately decide who lifts the World Cup trophy. But this World Cup once again reminded us of a truth that football sometimes insists on forgetting: before a striker can win a World Cup, there is almost always a goalkeeper who prevents it from being lost.

The 2022 final is perhaps the perfect example. We all remember Lionel Messi's triumph. But for that moment to exist, there was first a save that changed history. In the 123rd minute, when Kolo Muani was through on goal against Argentina, Emiliano Martínez made one of those saves that win titles. If that shot had gone in, Argentina would probably have lost the World Cup. Messi would still be one of the greatest players ever, but he might have lacked the trophy that so many said was missing from his career.

One save altered the destiny of a final. Perhaps even how history remembers one of the greatest protagonists in world football.

"Leading the Game" is the opinion column on abola.pt by Tiago Guadalupe, author of the books "Liderator - Excellence in Sport," "Maniche 18," "Being a Coach, Joel Rocha's conception in futsal," "To be a Coach," "Organize to Win," and "Manuel Cajuda – the (un)Coach."