Some goalkeepers from the clubs in the bottom half of the Premier League
final standings in 2023/24 still make the cut in EURO 2024.
The Premier League has been the elite domestic league in the world for
years. When players, especially goalkeepers, manage to seal the spot in the
line-up and continue to be the first choice in the EPL club, then they
certainly deserve a place in the national team’s final squad for a major tournament
like EURO 2024. Such does not only apply to the shot stoppers from the Premier
League top teams but also to the ones playing for the mid- or lower-table
sides.
The England national team is one of them. They still count on Jordan
Pickford between the sticks, despite having Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale and
Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson. Pickford has been the key player in The Three
Lions since the 2018 FIFA World Cup. His experience in major tournaments and
mentality in the big game deserve special credit, despite only playing for the
minnow, Everton. The Toffees only finished 15th last season, which
was lower than Crystal Palace (10th) and Arsenal (2nd).
Pickford is, as a matter of fact, not the only one who has been called up
for EURO 2024. Here are the other goalies from the Premier League sides
finishing in the bottom half of the table in the 2023–24 season.
Mark Flekken (Brentford)
Mark Flekken is an underrated Dutch goalies. The former Duisburg and SC
Freiburg goalie just switched sides to the Premier League in summer 2023, has
only capped seven times for the national team, and have never played in the
Dutch top flight in his career
Unfortunately, Flekken’s form in Brentford proves that he does only deserve
the second choice in the pecking order during EURO 2024, which is also his
first major international competition in his career. He made 38 appearances for
the Bees but only managed to keep clean sheets in seven games. No wonder that
Thomas Frank’s side only finished in the lower table last season. Yet, his most
notable form in the 2023–24 campaign was the game against Brighton. Both shared
spoils in a stalemate, but he was named the man of the match with six saves.
The Kerkrade-born shot stopper started his professional career in Germany.
He made his senior debut not with the Eredivisie side but with German’s third
tier side, Allemannia Aachen in 2012. He then signed for Bundesliga 2 team,
Greuther Furth in 2013, initially as the back-up before eventually became the
first choice in Freiburg in 2021. Flekken has yet to win a single silverware so
far.
Jose Sa (Wolverhampton)
Jose Sa has been a regular name on the Portugal national team since the 2017
FIFA Confederation. He was also part of the squad in the 2019 UEFA Nations
League and the 2022 FIFA World Cup before EURO 2024. Yet, he has only earned
two caps in international fixtures. Sa seems to be only the third choice behind
FC Porto Diogo Costa and AS Roma’s Rui Patricio in Selecao das Quinas for their
summer campaign in Germany.
However, the former Olympiacos shot stopper has been the first choice for
the Wolverhampton Wanderers. He joined the Wolves in summer 2021 and was able
to bring them to 10th in the final standings in his first season,
with 11 clean sheets in 40 games. His top performance has kept Wolverhampton
tickets in high demand each and every season. Last season, Sa only made six
clean sheets, which has been his lowest since signing for the Premier League
side. Yet, it does not stop the 31-year-old goalkeeper from getting a call-up
for EURO 2024.
Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest)
He was Nottingham Forest’s winter signing who helped them in crucial times
to avoid relegation. The 32-year-old goalkeeper joined The Tricky Trees from
Strasbourg and soon made an instant impact as he got a nod more than USMNT’s
Matt Turner or Greece international Odysseus Vlachodimos. He featured in 16 games in the second half of the season, with the 3-1 win over Fulham and the
2-0 victory against West Ham as his most notable games throughout the season.
The former Newcastle United and Anderlecht shot stopper made his senior
debut for the Belgium national team in 2021. Yet, he has just appeared eight times
in international fixtures. EURO 2024 is his first major tournament with De Rode
Duivels. Yet, he is only the second fiddle after Koen Casteels between the
sticks.
Thomas Kaminski (Luton Town)
Sels’s understudy, Thomas Kaminski, is currently playing for Luton, the
newly promoted and relegated team in the 2023–24 season. He featured 38 times
last season and only made two clean sheets, which were obviously not enough to
keep them in the top flight. Yet, such did not stop Belgium national team boss
Domenico Tedesco from including him in the final squad. Kaminski just made his
senior debut last March, despite regularly getting the call-up since 2013. In
fact, EURO 2024 has already been his second major tournament after EURO 2020.
Kaminski has won several titles in his career, mainly while playing for
Anderlecht and FC Copenhagen. He enjoyed three league titles, two of which were
Belgian Pro League in 2013 and 2014.
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