English Clubs

Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne go together in Belgium's attack like peanut butter and jelly coming together to make the most timeless of sandwiches. They've built their impressive careers at separate clubs, but when they come together with Belgium there's little opponents can do to stop them. Having so much success between them, the two obviously had to create a celebratory handshake to go with it.

As a Newcastle United supporter, I’ve spent a large portion of my life telling anyone and everyone how Martin Dúbravka is the most underrated goalkeeper in the Premier League. The 32-year-old Slovak is a world-class shot stopper, but most of those keepers come with the caveat of “prone to the odd howler.”

Not Dúbravka. 

At least not until Wednesday when Slovakia met Spain in its Euro 2020 Group E finale.

With two matchdays already complete, England's footballing template has been executed perfectly so far at Euro 2020.

First: infinite pre-tournament hype, especially in connection to a burgeoning young star — in this case, Phil Foden. Then, earn some decent results in the group stage without looking overly encouraging on the pitch. Finally, get through to the next round, provide some hope, then lose in heartbreaking fashion late in the game or on penalties.

It's a pattern so often repeated that any England fan worth his salt has put it to memory.

Former Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuaín had low expectations coming to MLS but now is learning to respect the competition. The 33-year-old exclaimed he expected to play with a cigarette in his mouth, it was going to be that easy.

Through seven matches in the 2021 MLS season, Higuaín has four goals and one assist. He was quoted on Christain Vieri's Twitch live stream a few days ago saying, "I thought I would come to MLS and play with a cigarette in my mouth and instead it is difficult."

The build-up to every major international tournament is the same: who has the best striker? Or, this is why x midfielder is going to dominate or why this winger is the key to this country getting out of its group. 

But no one ever talks about the goalkeepers. In such a short tournament, where three matches decide a team's fate, the importance of the goalkeeper becomes magnified. 

So let's give the goalkeepers the spotlight for a little bit, because often they're the ones that end up deciding the tournament.