Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports
Tim Howard is unquestionably the breakout American star of the World Cup, as he became a national hero following his amazing performance in goal against Belgium. FIFA announced the finalists for the Golden Glove award, given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament, and Howard was overlooked. Germany’s Manuel Neuer, Argentina’s Sergio Romero and Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas are the three goalkeeper’s on FIFA’s shortlist. Neuer and Romero will meet in the World Cup final Sunday.
The Golden Glove nominees are @NavasKeylor, @Manuel_Neuer Sergio Romero – fifa.to/1jkcb7C http://t.co/uxBDZ2kj3S—
(@FIFAWorldCup) July 11, 2014
American fans are outraged that Howard is not up for the award, but it might have been a bigger injustice if Howard was included.
Judging goalkeepers is extremely difficult, especially in such a short tournament. The sample size for each player is small, so a huge performance in one game overshadow the rest. Each keeper faces a different number of tests each, and FIFA has to decide whether to reward great goalkeepers on bad teams (that allowed more chances), or recognize great goalkeepers on the world’s best teams.
Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images
Yes, Tim Howard was absolutely heroic against Belgium. He kept an overmatched United States team in the game with 15 saves before finally allowing two goals in stoppage time. Howard’s numbers for the rest of the tournament are less impressive, at least when compared to FIFA’s finalists.
Howard made 13 saves over three games in the group stage and let in four goals. The United States allowed 26 shots on goal in those three games, so Howard was one of the most active American players in Brazil. Still, Howard didn’t keep a single clean sheet (shutout) in any of the four games, and that certainly counts against him. Navas held clean sheets against England and Italy, and was the hero of Costa Rica’s penalty-shootout victory over Greece. Neuer has made 25 saves and has three clean sheets. Romero leads all goalkeepers with four clean sheets, and he made two saves in a penalty shootout to send Argentina to the final.
If Howard should have been included on the list solely for his performance against Belgium, then Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was snubbed as well. Ochoa made six unbelievable saves and held Brazil scoreless in the group stage, propelling Mexico to the knockout round. Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois allowed just a single goal in the group stage. There were a number of stellar performances in goal throughout the tournament, and FIFA had to draw the line somewhere.
