For over a decade now, we’ve been telling people that the greatest position in sport is that of Third Choice Goalkeeper in major tournaments. All the fun of a trip to the big tournament without any of the worry associated with performing. Winners get medals, losers get none of the blame. A position in the squad where your vibe is more important than your skills.
A reminder of the tropes to look out for: young and uncapped, old and barely capped, playing in the second tier and/or a back up at club level. We thought we might see one or two countries call up a fourth keeper as squads were increased to 26, but alas they have all stuck with the three. History has taught us that some of these will end up playing some part, but for now this is our best guess of the 24 luckiest men at Euro 2024.
More reading:
- -The Definitive Guide To The Third Choice Goalkeepers Of The 2022 World Cup
- -The 24 Luckiest Men At Euro 2020 - The Third Choice Goalkeepers
- Profiling The 32 Third Choice Goalkeepers For World Cup 2018
- The 24 Luckiest Men At Euro 2016: Third Choice Goalkeepers
- Say Hello To The 32 Luckiest Men At The 2014 World Cup
Without further ado, let's meet our heroes.
Group A
Germany – Oliver Baumann
Straight away we hit one of our check marks as Baumann is 34 years old but has yet to make his debut for the Germany national team. He has nearly 500 Bundesliga appearances with first Freiburd and then, for the last 10 seasons, Hoffenheim. He received a call-up to the squad in 2020 but hasn’t featured since and his inclusion here was seen as somewhat of a shock. Only 3 German squad members are older than him and they have each earned over 100 caps.
Oliver Baumann training with Hoffenheim 🇩🇪🧤 pic.twitter.com/bg3wYc5D8I
— Goalkeepers Anonymous (@goalkeepersanon) May 15, 2023
Scotland – Liam Kelly
All three of the Scottish goalkeepers at Euro 2024 made their international debut last year, but of the three, Kelly has the least appearances with his only cap coming in a friendly against France last October. The 28-year-old includes spells in Scottish League Two with East Fife and in the English Championship with QPR on his resume. He’s been first choice for Motherwell for the best four seasons, including both legs of their Europa Conference League defeat to Sligo Rovers.
Hungary - Péter Szappanos
Szappanos is 33 and has only made one appearance for the national team before. That was as a 92nd substitute for Denes Dibusz in a friendly win over Greece in November 2022. Currently with Paksi in the Hungarian top tier, he has more league games played in the Hungarian 2nd and 3rd tiers than the top division. He’s the only Paksi player at the tournament.
Switzerland - Gregor Kobel
Kobel is first choice keeper with Borussia Dortmund and played in the recent Champions League final but he’s likely only third choice for the Swiss. The 26-year-old has completed 5 years in the Bundesliga, with the last 3 being in Dortmund. He made his senior international debut in 2021 but has only added 4 caps since. Lorient’s Yvon Mongo is the other backup here but has made more appearances recently.
Según Score90, Gregor Kobel es el mejor arquero de la temporada 🔝 pic.twitter.com/NPDB69T9Eo
— Gente De Dortmund 🎙️ (@GenteDeDortmund) June 6, 2024
Group B
Spain – Alex Remiro
The 29-year-old netminder with Real Sociedad made his international debut in March of this year. He started out with Basconia in the regional fourth tier in Spain and rose through the divisions in Spain before making his La Liga debut in 2019 with Sociedad. His career highlight so far was keeping a clean sheet in the 2020 Copa del Rey final (played in April 2021) as Real Sociedad beat their Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao 1-0.
Croatia - Nediljko Labrovic
The 26-year-old Rijeka keeper made his international debut in the final of the FIFA Series as Croatia beat Egypt in the new Egyptian capital in March. He was one of four keepers used by Croatia over the two games. The other backup is Ivica Ivusic who plays with Paphos in the Cypriot League. He’s won 6 caps over the last 4 years.
🚨Now official: Nediljko Labrović, new goalkeeper of @FCAugsburg! 🧤🇭🇷
Our news, now confirmed ✔️🏁 pic.twitter.com/yzl7bLGNba— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) June 11, 2024
Italy – Alex Meret
Meret was TCG for Italy as they won Euro 2020 in Wembley in the summer of 2021 and he’s only added one cap since for a total of three. The Napoli starter added a Serie A title in 2023 to the Serie B title he won with SPAL in 2017 as a twenty-year-old. Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario is the other back up and he himself has played extensively in Series D, C & B before making his Serie A debut in 2020.
Albania - Elhan Kastrati
Where else are you reading a profile of the Albanian Third Choice Goalkeeper? Elhan had a couple of seasons in the Albanian top tier before joining Pescara of Italy’s Serie B in 2018. It wasn’t until he moved to AS Cittadelle in 2020 that he established himself as a regular starter and he’s remained there ever since. They finished 14th in Serie B last season. The 27-year-old has one cap to his name, as a half-time sub in a 0-0 friendly draw against Estonia in June 2022.
Domani alle 11.00 presso la Galleria Mantegna di Cittadella la consegna ad Elhan #Kastrati del 6° Premio Giocatore Granata dell’Anno – Bragagnolo Argenti.
Vi aspettiamo! 🇱🇻 pic.twitter.com/rHZF5VCncX— A.S. Cittadella (@ascittadella73) August 17, 2023
Group C
Slovenia – Igor Vekic
We’ve had our old and uncapped, we’ve had our second-tier player, and now meet our club back up. Vekic is with Vejle in Denmark and has only played once for them since signing last summer from Pacos Ferreira in Portugal (where he was also a backup). His last full season as a starter was 2020-21 with Bravo in Slovenia. He made his debut for the national team in a friendly against the USA in January.
Vrhunski vratar slovenske nogometne reprezentance Igor Vekić bo glasoval na #EUvolitve24 9. junija, “ker skupaj zmoremo veliko več kot vsak zase - tako v EU, kot v nogometu.”
9. junija na evropskih volitvah #UporabiSvojGlas. Sicer bodo drugi odločili o tvoji prihodnosti. pic.twitter.com/90qnRN5ezj— Evropski parlament v Sloveniji (@Europarl_SL) June 4, 2024
Denmark - Mads Hermansen
Hermansen shone in the Championship last year as Leicester City returned quickly to the EPL. Only 23, he remains uncapped but may be Kasper Schmeichel’s long-term replacement. Hermansen started his career with Brondby before leaving for England last summer.
Incredible, Mads! 🤯
The @SkyBetChamp double save of the season 🧤 🧤 pic.twitter.com/63cJj04XLd— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 4, 2024
Serbia – Dorde Petrovic
Petrovic already has an interesting club career as a relatively young goalkeeper (24). He had 3 years in Serbia with Cukaricki before leaving for New England Revolution in MLS. After 18 months in the USA he signed for Chelsea, expecting to be a backup to Robert Sanchez. In December, Petrovic replaced the injured Sanchez and he went on to impress as the Londoners solidified after a rocky start to their season. He made his international debut in 2021 but has only added 2 caps since.
Dorde Petrovic 💙🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/h4yrA4ZWgy
— Chelsea FC FR (@ChelseaFCFRA) June 4, 2024
England – Dean Henderson
Henderson shared the 2023/24 goalkeeping duties for Crystal Palace with former England TCG Sam Johnstone. It was the 27-year-old’s first season off the Manchester United books, where he had spent most of his playing time out on loan. His first professional appearances were with Stockport County in the 6th tier of English football and he progressed up through the loan system before making his EPL debut in 2019. He made his international debut against Ireland in Wembley in November 2020 and hasn’t added a cap yet.
12 November 2020; Dean Henderson of England during the International Friendly match between England and Republic of Ireland at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Group D
Poland – Marcin Bulka
The 24-year-old super-tall keeper came through the ranks at Chelsea and PSG but spent his first year as a starter with Nice in Ligue 1 last season. His only cap so far came in a friendly late last year and he’s more famous in Poland for crashing a rented Lamborghini in 2020.
𝐋𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐫 🎖️
🦅 Un mot pour décrire la saison de @marcin_bulka ? pic.twitter.com/SR3AJ8bkCD— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) May 24, 2024
Netherlands - Justin Bijlow
The Dutch have made fools of us before with their keeper choices but we think Justin Bijlow is third choice for now as he hasn’t started a game for them this year, unlike his lesser-capped squad mates. The 26-year-old has spent his entire career at his home town Feyenoord helping them win 2 Dutch league titles along the way. Mark Flekken has used his move to the EPL and Brentford to move ahead of Bijlow in the pecking order.
🧤 Justin Bijlow, the ultimate shithouse! 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/T6j5lxyHCx
— Eduardo Hagn (@EduardoHagn) May 22, 2024
Austria – Niklas Heidl
One of four members of the Rapid Vienna squad included in the Austrian panel – the most of any club – Heidl has been first choice at club level since graduating from the B team in 2022. He has only one cap to his name – as a half-time sub in a 1-0 win over Andorra in Malaga in November 2022. His dad is his goalkeeping coach at Rapid.
France - Alphonse Areola
One of the poster children of TCGs, Areola won the World Cup with France in 2018 before he had made his international debut. He again made the French squad for the World Cup in 2022 in the midst of a run of 6 league games in 2 seasons between Fulham and West Ham. Now back starting with West Ham, he’s won 5 caps since making his debut in late 2018 with the last of those nearly 2 years ago. He’s credited with league winners medals from both France and Spain in 2019-20 as he started the season as backup with PSG and ended the season as backup on loan with Real Madrid.
A true hero of the genre.
Alphonse Areola with the #WorldCup trophy. #FRA [by Michael Regan]: pic.twitter.com/nCaedTE9c6
— fp (@FtblPhotos) July 16, 2018
Group E
Belgium – Thomas Kaminski
All 3 Belgian keepers are 31 or over and they have less than 20 cap between them. It’s been a breakout year for Kaminski who impressed for Luton Town despite their relegated from the EPL. He spent the previous 3 years with Blackburn Rovers and includes spells on loan in Cyprus and Denmark on his CV. He made his international debut in Dublin in March as a late sub in the 0-0 draw with Ireland.
Well deserved, Kam! 👏
Thomas Kaminski has won the @Castrol Save of the Season ⛔️ pic.twitter.com/dpl7njeCh6— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) May 26, 2024
Slovakia – Henrich Ravas
Ravas is uncapped and aged 26 has had a pretty varied club career so far. Aged only 18, he made his adult debut for Boston United in England’s National League North. He then spent 5 years with Derby County but only played in non-league with Gainsborough Trinity and Hartlepool while out on loan. One season at home before a move to the Polish second tier with Widzew Lodz where he won promotion back to the top tier. 18 months later he joined New England Revolution in the MLS earlier this year. Is he the only player to have played for the teams representing Boston in England and Boston in the US?
We're back with another episode of Drawing Outside the Lines!
This week we have MLS newcomer Henrich Ravas with Chicago Fire FC 🎨⚽️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/CAXB29qsEE— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) May 4, 2024
Romania - Stefan Tarnovu
Romania’s first-choice keeper is a club backup, but their other options are both regular starters. Tarnovu helped FCSB win the Romanian League title this year for the first time since they were forced to change name from Steaua Bucharest. His only cap so far was earned in a November 2022 friendly win over neighbours Moldova.
Ukraine - Heorhiy Bushchan
Buschan was the starting keeper for Ukraine in Euro 2020 but looks to have slipped behind Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin and Benfica’s Anatoliy Trubin. The three of them have shared the load over the past three years with Buschan, the oldest at 30 and most experienced with 18 caps, mainly appearing in friendlies. He has only ever played for Dynamo Kyiv at club level.
Group F
Turkey – Mert Gunok
Turkey are the only country to bring the same three keepers to Euros 2020 and 2024. The order has changed slightly and Gunok looks to be third choice despite being the most experienced with 29 caps. The 35-year-old Besiktas stopper is also the oldest player in the squad. He’s never played outside Turkey and comes into the tournament off the back of winning the Turkish Cup.
It was very nice to play with you Baba. I wish you to be happy and successful in your new journey. @dembabafoot
🤍🖤🦅🦅 pic.twitter.com/aqfQYPVvPw— Mert Günok (@MertGunok) September 13, 2021
Georgia - Luka Gugeshashvili
Quite a few of our niche boxes are being ticked here. Gugeshashvili is 25 and won his only cap as a half-time sub in Georgia’s win over Mongolia in March 2023. He left Georgian champions Gila for Azerbaijan’s Qarabag in 2022 and he’s the only player from the Azeri league at Euro 2024. After Qarabag signed Russian international Andrey Lunyov last year, Gugeshashvili has been their backup too.
📌 ევროპის ჩემპიონატის ოფიციალური განაცხადი 🇬🇪
📌 Our #EURO24 squad 🇬🇪
1/3
🧤
Giorgi Mamardashvili
Giorgi Loria
Luka Gugeshashvili
⏹️
Guram Kashia ©️
Solomon Kverkvelia
Otar Kakabadze
Luka Lochoshvili
Lasha Dvali
Giorgi Gvelesiani
Jimi T'abidze
Giorgi Gocholeishvili#GFF pic.twitter.com/mOuYIHI6Y1— Georgia • GFF (@GeorgiaGff) June 8, 2024
Portugal – Jose Sa
Jose Sa was first called up by the Portuguese national team in 2017 where he was TCG for the Confederations Cup. Still uncapped, he was TCG for the 2022 World Cup. He finally made his international debut last year and has just one cap since. After playing with Maritimo and Porto – where he played for their reserve sides more than the first team – it wasn’t until he moved to Olympiacos in 2018 that he became a regular starter. He’s been Wolves start in the Premier League for the past 3 seasons.
Czech Republic - Vítězslav Jaroš
He’s last because that’s how the countries are listed, but for this writer, he’s also his favourite man on the list. Vit Jaros is 22 and was uncapped prior to his announcement in the squad. He made his debut in the last Czech friendly before the tournament. Contracted to Liverpool, he’s yet to play for them but has just won the Austrian League and Cup double while on loan with Sturm Graz. It was another loan spell that brought him to the attention of football fans in Ireland though. Jaros excelled with St Patrick’s Athletic in 2021 winning the FAI Cup, the Soccer Writers’ Goalkeeper of the Year Award and St Pat’s Club Player of the Year award. Czechia open Euro 2024 with a game against Portugal on the 18th of June. Exactly 3 years early, Jaros kept a clean sheet as St Pats beat Sligo Rovers 2-0.
28 November 2021; St Patrick's Athletic goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros with supporters after the Extra.ie FAI Cup Final match between Bohemians and St Patrick's Athletic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
That’s the lot. 24 (plus) heroes. Let’s hope we can enjoy Euro 2024 as much as they do!
