FIFA World Cup: “Most Improved Players” – How Goalkeepers Have Narrowed Their “Significant Gap” Long perceived as a weak link in women’s teams, goalkeepers are now benefiting from the normalization of specialized coaching. Their performances are scrutinized, analyzed, and often criticized. During the group stage of this World Cup, numerous goalkeepers, like England’s Mary Earps or Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, contributed crucial points to secure qualification for their teams. Conversely, some of them faltered, as is typical in major competitions.
The most recent example is Yenith Bailey from Panama, who conceded six goals against the French team last Wednesday. “On all of Selma Bacha’s shots, especially on corners, she was too close to her goal line and didn’t sufficiently influence the target area that the Lyon player was aiming for. In my opinion, it’s still a relic of old-school training,” said Pierre-Henry Coulon.
Specialized Coaches Stepping In This “old school” referred to by the goalkeeping coach for En Avant Guingamp in D1 Arkema corresponds to a not-so-distant past when gloved players weren’t adequately supported at the club level. “The level of support and consideration for the position used to be so low that there was an immense developmental gap compared to outfield players. Nowadays, there’s still a slight lag, but goalkeepers are the players who have shown the most improvement in recent years,” states the 27-year-old Breton adopted coach.
In Europe, the overall level has been improving recently due to the appointment of specialized coaches. “We are better supported now than ten years ago when there weren’t always dedicated coaches for goalkeepers. When you have targeted training, naturally, you get better,” noted Solène Durand, who is the third-choice goalkeeper for the French national team.
A Shared Observation by Laëtitia Philippe, a goalkeeper for Le Havre: “Thanks to them, we work at every moment, even during warm-ups. Without specialists, we’d warm up among ourselves, but there wouldn’t be the same intensity,” summarizes the France Télévisions consultant. Although she was one of the privileged players who were regularly supervised by professionals, she also remembers challenging phases.
“Five years ago in Rodez, the person assisting us had no certification, and she was only there once a week, leaving after 45 minutes.”
Laëtitia Philippe, goalkeeper at Le Havre and France Télévisions consultant at franceinfo: sport In France, following the example of other major leagues, nearly all the top-tier women’s sections have appointed specific coaches. “The idea is that goalkeepers can acquire technical skills earlier in their careers to develop the rest more rapidly, especially at the tactical level,” explains Bérangère Sapowicz, who played as a goalkeeper for the French national team from 2003 to 2011 (23 caps) and is now in charge of the position for Le Havre’s club.
Footwork and Communication – Two Priority Areas Among the key areas where coaching input is crucial, footwork stands out. “Previously, we were less involved in this aspect. That changed about 5-6 seasons ago,” recounts Laëtitia Philippe. Since then, they have been considered complete outfield players. It’s no longer the 10+1 vision. In practice, they are asked to position themselves between the two central defenders to allow the full-backs to push up more.”
“The footwork needs to be clean, precise, and effective. It has become almost more important than the traditional characteristics of the goalkeeper position.”
Bérangère Sapowicz, former international turned goalkeeper coach at franceinfo: sport Developing this aspect of the game offers new options to teams. “Depending on the coach’s ideas and the opponents, we don’t prepare for matches in the same way. Against Guingamp, for example, the team will work completely differently than against Lyon. With a higher defensive line, my role is to condition my goalkeeper to play further from her goal and cover the depth,” explains Bérangère Sapowicz.
But the specialized coach’s work doesn’t stop there. Communication with the other outfield players is crucial. “Speaking for what? To whom? With what tone?” These are questions that Pierre-Henry Coulon tries to provide answers to his protégées in Côtes-d’Armor. “If the goalkeeper communicates with a monotone voice, her teammates will get used to hearing white noise during the match. It won’t be effective anymore.” This is an aspect that these players couldn’t work on in a period when they trained alone, without someone to guide them.
A Height Disadvantage that’s Still Challenging to Overcome Despite this progress, errors persist, much like in men’s football. In the third goal for Panama, the French number 1, Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, made a fatal hesitation when coming out to punch a ball in her box. The fault was due to “parasitic forward movements before retreating,” according to Pierre-Henry Coulon.
“For aerial play, it remains challenging because we don’t have the same physique as men,” confirms Bérangère Sapowicz, even though the size of the goal doesn’t change. Therefore, it’s difficult to dominate in the air. But it’s also a characteristic that women have of not engaging too much physically and rather relying on their reflexes on the goal line.”
“To compensate, the goalkeeper profiles targeted by clubs are players who are tall enough to cover a maximum of space, even just to stretch an arm, to have amplitude,” acknowledges Pierre-Henry Coulon, citing the example of OL’s Chilean goalkeeper Christiane Endler (1.83m). But that doesn’t mean smaller players can’t excel.
Currently in the “lower average” at her 1.73 meters, Laëtitia Philippe understands this: “Physiologically, there’s nothing we can do. We are less powerful and we can’t jump as high.” For her, the key is to rely on her reading of trajectories and the art of positioning, taught by the specialist coach.
“Through our positioning, we can influence the movements of the opposing midfield or the one delivering the cross. We always need to be a step ahead.”
Bérangère Sapowicz, former international turned goalkeeper coach at franceinfo: sport Pierre-Henry Coulon emphasizes shoulder orientation. Thus, when the ball is at the center circle, he instructs his students to “have their feet staggered to manage depth and be pre-actioned to intervene.” But at this position, “mistakes are inevitably more noticeable,” as highlighted by Laëtitia Philippe, whose worst blunder dates back to an Issy-Lyon match. On that day, she let a simple header from Lyon’s player slip through her hands into her own net. “We might have three or four situations to deal with per match. If we make a mistake, we have time to dwell on it, whereas an outfield player would already have touched new balls within two minutes to forget her error,” reminds Bérangère Sapowicz.
An additional pressure to consider for goalkeepers. Hence, the specialized coach’s influence usually extends to mental aspects. “A relationship of trust needs to be established. They’re the person we interact with the most. The coach needs to know how to communicate with their goalkeepers, how they react, and
