The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup will inevitably go down as a tournament where goalkeepers stole the show.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the two men who will man the nets for Wednesday’s final between the USMNT and Jamaica. Both Tim Howard and Andre Blake have turned in standout performances in goal for their respective national teams up to this point.
Goalkeeping Heroics Highlight 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Blake’s quality between the posts has been instrumental in the Reggae Boyz run to their second straight Gold Cup Final. Among goalies who’ve appeared in at least four games, his 86.4 percent save percentage trails only the player he eliminated in the semifinals, Mexico’s Jesús Corona. And he does so by a mere three-tenths of a percentage point.
Howard is clearly sporting fewer minutes than Blake as he joined the Stars and Stripes as one of their six replacement players heading into the knockout stage. In the two games since, he hasn’t been called into action too much, making just three saves. But the “Secretary of Defense” made his mark when called upon.
Who can forget Howard’s sprawling denial of El Salvador’s Rodolfo Zelaya to prevent a shock early deficit while bailing out Eric Lichaj at the same time? Against Costa Rica three days later in the semis, his save of Marco Ureña helped quiet a dangerous counterattack in the 71st minute.
Not too long thereafter, Jozy Altidore gave the US a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. And the player who assisted on his goal, Clint Dempsey, doubled the advantage off a salacious set piece strike. It seemed to confirm his status as a potential super sub in the twilight of his USMNT career. But that’s a topic for discussion at some other time.
For now, it’s time to highlight the accomplishments of goalkeepers throughout this tournament. And it’s not just Howard and Blake who stood out. Plenty of other netminders, including those from less prominent nations in the region, made waves.
Goals Hard to Come By in 2017 Gold Cup
The following visual, which details goals per game for each Gold Cup excluding the Final, paints an interesting picture regarding the quality of goalkeeping in this year’s tournament.
It should be readily apparent that this year’s iteration of the Gold Cup is the second lowest scoring in the history of the tournament. Now it must be said that a variety of factors are at play. Perhaps attacking players didn’t generate enough quality in the final third. And maybe the minnows are catching up. After all, this is just third time (2002 and 2005 being the others) that not a single team conceded five or more goals in a game.
But don’t discount the goalkeepers’ part in making that a reality. On average, they made 7.13 saves per game in this tournament which is .25 per game more than in 2015. For countries such as Jamaica, it helped vault them to Wednesday’s championship. In the case of some lesser heralded teams, it made the scoreline of games look less one-sided.
A few players certainly deserve some recognition. Though their respective teams’ Gold Cup campaigns have long since ended, their goalkeeping exploits are noteworthy.
Justo Lorente, Nicaragua
Heading into just their second-ever Gold Cup and first since 2009, Nicaragua was clearly going to be overmatched in a group that included the US and Panama. During their three group matches, goalkeeper Justo Lorente faced a barrage of shots and did let in seven. At first glance, that’s nothing to write home about. But his 19 saves equaled Blake’s total in two fewer games. And he actually finished with a higher save percentage (73.1 percent) than Costa Rica’s Patrick Pemberton (72.7 percent).
Eloy Room, Curaçao
Curaçao is an up and coming program in CONCACAF. They qualified for the Gold Cup fairly easily in winning their first-ever Caribbean Cup in 2017. It’s a reason why they currently sport a FIFA ranking of 68 which is the highest in their history. Though their tournament didn’t exactly go according to plan, don’t blame Eloy Room for it. Similar to Lorente, the long-time keeper for Vitesse in the Dutch Eredivisie made 19 saves during the group stage. His attack certainly didn’t help him as Curaçao didn’t register a single goal.
Derby Carrillo, El Salvador
The son of Salvadoran immigrants, Derby Carrillo grew up in California and starred collegiately at Cal State Dominguez Hills and later at St. John’s. Him and two other members of El Salvador’s Gold Cup squad (Richard Menjivar and Junior Burgos the others) played on the Cal FC amateur side which shocked the Portland Timbers en route to a Cinderella run in the 2012 U.S. Open Cup. In three starts for Los Cuscatlecos, Carrillo saved 81.3 percent of the shots sent his way. He finished as one of four keepers who appeared in at least three Gold Cup games with a save percentage above 80 percent.
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One of the biggest stories coming out of this tournament as it winds down is the performance of the goalkeepers. The last remaining order of business is crowning a champion of the region. And it’s a near certainty that position will be at the forefront of what transpires in that regard. With one goalie having spent 14 years in Europe and another clearly good enough to make a move abroad, Wednesday’s game in the Bay Area boasts plenty of intrigue between the posts.
