You love them, we love them. They’re the Third Choice Goalkeepers (TCGs) in major tournaments. The best seats in the house with little or no chance of any game time, these heroes are selected mainly for vibes. In a World Cup filled with men of varying degrees of character, you can be certain these lads are 100% sound. This year we’ve even be blessed with a couple of fourth choice keepers. Praise them like you should.
As is now tradition, it’s likely a couple of these will actually get to play and, you’ll be shocked to read this, we’re guessing on a couple of them. The indicators to look out for include club back-ups, old and uncapped, very young, playing in the second or third tier somewhere, playing in a league with little or no representation. This year there’s a big new trend too; Bundesliga keepers. That’s enough of the waffle, let’s get to our heroes. As ever, we go through the groups.
(You can see our previous TCG World Cup efforts from 2014 and 2018 as well as the European championship rundowns from 2016 and 2020/21 too.)
Group A
Netherlands - Andries Noppert
Louis van Gaal gave us TCG lovers an early boost when he avoided selecting his proven keepers and instead went with 3 men who could all be third choice in most years. Justin Bijlow of Feyenoord has 6 caps and will probably start. Remko Pasveer of Ajax is 39 and only made his international debut this year. However we’re going to say 28 year old Andries Noppert of Herenveen is the man. He’s played 45 league games in his career with 29 of them coming since 2021. When Go Ahead Eagles won the Dutch second tier in 2020/21, he was their back up. He is definitely a vibes man.
Andries Noppert Legend! 😂 #ScHeerenveen pic.twitter.com/i2P2RaoUpS
— Frank Beenen (@MrFrankLegs) September 28, 2022
Ecuador - Moisez Ramirez
The South Americans were the last to announce their squad and have included four home-based players including all three keepers. Moisez Ramirez is likely the third choice. The 22 year old has won 2 caps so far and plays with Independiente del Valle. Their only player at the World Cup.
Senegal - Seny Dieng
Seny Dieng is likely third choice and the QPR keeper has a colourful club career that includes spells with Whitehawk and Hampton & Richmond Borough in the English 6th tier along with games for the reserve teams, but not the senior teams, of Grasshoppers in his native Switzerland and Duisburg in Germany.
Qatar - Youssef Hassan
We want to mention Meshaal Barsham here, just so we can mention his brother is the Olympic high jump champion, but we think he’ll be second choice. Third choice will be Youssef Hassan who’s 26, has 7 caps and plays for Al-Gharafa. The entire Qatari squad play at home.
Group B
England - Aaron Ramsdale
Aaron Ramsdale is third choice and it’s the first time in a while that England’s third choice has been a regular for a team in the top half of the EPL (unlike their first choice…). Ramsdale is 24 and has earned 3 caps so far. England look to have bucked the vibes trend and instead chosen three very competent goalkeepers. Boring.
Wales - Adam Davies
Adam Davies is 30 and has 3 caps so far. He’s back up keeper for Sheffield United in the English Championship. Born in Germany, he moved to England when his Army dad was re-stationed. He received his first Wales call up 6 years ago.
USA - Sean Johnson
Their first choice is Arsenal’s back up. Their second choice is on loan at Luton Town from Nottingham Forest. Their third choice is Sean Johnson of New York City FC. He’s NYCFC’s only player at the world cup and there was chatter among USMNT fans that he may have been included to bolster the MLS presence. He made his international debut in 2011 and has ten caps so far with only 2 of them coming in the last 3 years.
Iran - Payam Niazmand
Bless you Carlos Queiroz for having the audacity to bring 4 goalkeepers to a world cup. Vibes everywhere. We’ll mention both third and fourth choice. Payam Niazmand is 27, has only one cap and plays with Sepahan in Iran. He’s been on the bench for them a lot in qualifying. 30-year-old Hossein Hosseini may have 6 caps but looks to be fourth choice. He plays with Esteghlal, also in Iran.
Group C
Argentina- Gerónimo Rulli
Argentina only has one home-based player in the squad and that’s River Plate’s keeper Franco Armani but he’s likely second choice. The TCG is Gerónimo Rulli of Villarreal. The 30-year-old has four caps. 2 from 2018 and 2 from this year. He saved from David de Gea, after scoring with the previous kick, to win the 2021 Europa League final penalty shootout for Villarreal over Manchester United.
Mexico - Rodolfo Cota
Mexico’s youngest keeper is their Third Choice Goalkeeper. He’s 35 (thirty five) years old. Rodolfo Cota has earned 8 caps so far after making his international debut in 2017 against the Republic of Ireland in New Jersey. He plays club football with Leon and is their only player in the Mexican squad.
1 June 2017; Shane Duffy and Daryl Murphy of Republic of Ireland in action against Rodolfo Cota of Mexico during the International Friendly match between Republic of Ireland and Mexico at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA. Photo by David Maher/Sportsfile
Poland - Kamil Grabara
Looks like we have a clear choice for TCG in Poland with 23-year-old Kamil Grabara of Copenhagen making his debut against Wales in September. It’s his only cap so far. He backs up veteran Serie A keepers Wojciech Szczęsny and Łukasz Skorupski.
Saudi Arabia- Nawaf Al-Aqidi
TCG Nawaf Al-Aqidi is 22 years old, plays with Al-Nassr in his homeland and hasn’t won a senior cap so far. He was goalkeeper for their victorious team at the AFC U23 championships this year but hasn’t made an appearance for the senior team yet.
Group D
France - Alphonse Areola
France may be world champions but that doesn’t mean their third-choice keeper doesn’t fit into one of our categories. Alphonse Areola is back up keeper for West Ham. The 29-year-old became a poster boy for TCGs by winning a World Cup medal in 2018 before he made his international debut. He has since won 5 caps bus is clearly a vibe master and is the youngest of the 3 French keepers at the Cup.
Denmark - Frederik Rønnow/Oliver Christensen
Denmark have an undisputed number one and then two players with little to choose between them. Union Berlin’s Frederik Rønnow has spent most of his Bundesliga career as a back up but starts now for Union. He’s 30 and has 8 caps with trips to the last two major tournaments under his belt. Hertha Berlin’s Oliver Christensen is only 23 and again, is in his first year as a starter in Germany. His only cap is from a Covid-decimated game against Sweden in 2020.
Australia - Danny Vukovic
Danny Vukovic is 37 and earned his fourth and most recent cap in 2021. After a long career in the A League, Vukovic had 4 years with Genk in Belgium before an unsuccessful spell in Holland with Nijmegen. He’s now back in Australia with the Central Coast Mariners. Fellow A League Andrew Redmayne also has 4 caps in his 30s but seeing as he came off the bench to clinch qualification through the penalty shoot-out with Peru, he’s probably ahead of Vukovic. Vokovic is possibly best-known for his vetinarian vibes.
Tunisia- Bechir Ben Saïd?
Tunisia have named 4 keepers, all from the local league and while we think we know who the 4th choice is, the rest of the order is a bit of a mystery. Aymen Dahmen is the youngest of the 4 at 25 and has 4 friendly caps so far. He plays with Sfaxien. The most experienced is 38 year old Aymen Mathlouthi (aka "Balbouli") who has over 70 caps but hasn’t played for the national team since 2019. 27-year-old Bechir Ben Saïd only has 10 caps but he was first choice in the African Cup of Nations. The last keeper is another 27 year old Mouez Hassen who had previously represented France at under 21 level but now has 20 caps for Tunisia. He has 20 caps
Group E
Germany - Kevin Trapp
Kevin Trapp is starting regularly at a pretty high level with Eintracht Frakfurt. The 32 year old has only 6 caps since his 2017 debut with Germany and this is his fourth tournament in a row in the German squad. You know what that means – he’s a vibes man.
Barcelona’s downfall was Kevin Trapp’s blessing ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/bi72GuJD2V
— 🅱️rah Paul 😎 (@BrahPaul) April 15, 2022
Spain - David Raya
Behind the number one, Spain’s other keepers have a lot in common. They’ve both earned one cap so far. They’ve both played in the 4th or 5th tier in England. Neither of them have played professionally in their homeland. Brighton’s Robert Sanchez was TCG for Euro 2020 last year and made his debut after the tournament. Brentford’s 27-year-old David Raya made his debut this year. On that basis, we’re nominating him as third choice.
Japan - Daniel Schmidt
Another country with 3 keepers over 30, we think the 11 times capped Daniel Schmidt is third choice. He’s currently playing with Sint-Truiden in Belgium. Eiji Kawashima was recently recalled to the squad after a three year absence. He’s 39 and has nearly 100 caps but is a back up with Strasbourg in France.
Costa Rica - Patrick Sequeira
Patrick Sequeira is our man from Costa Rica. Uncapped when the squad was named, he made his debut in a recent friendly with South Korea coming on after second choice Alvarado was sent off. He’s 23 and plays his club football with Lugo in the Spanish second tier. Well, we say play but he hasn’t actually played since joining them in the off-season. His only appearances in Spain have been in the regional third tier.
Group F
Belgium - Koen Casteels
Koen Casteels joins the list of starting Bundesliga keepers to be third choice for their nation. The 30-year-old plays with Wolfsburg and has 4 caps since his debut in 2020. He was uncapped when TCG at the 2018 World Cup and the same three keepers are in Qatar this time round.
What an effort and what a save! 🧤
Neco Williams drives down the left, cuts inside onto his right and unleashes a stunning effort to force a brilliant save from Koen Casteels 😮
📺 Watch live on Sky Sports Football pic.twitter.com/Iu5KxR2Tnh— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) November 16, 2021
Croatia - Ivo Grbic
Ivo Grbic is 26-years-old and earned his only 2 caps last year. He’s the back up keeper with Atletico Madrid but seemingly impressed on loan with Lille last season. He’s set to be behind two keepers who play in Croatia.
Canada - James Pantemis
James Pantemis ticks a few of our boxes. At 25, he’s uncapped and has only been called up to two previous Canadian squads. On the books of MLS side CF Montreal since 2019, he’s played less than 40 times for them, including 15 this past season where he backed up another Canadian keeper Sebastian Breza, before becoming the starter late on.
Morocco - Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti is another returnee from 2018 as TGC. He had two caps before that World Cup and has only added one more, in 2019, since then. He plays with Moroccan and African Champions Wydad, keeping a clean sheet in the African Champions League final against Al Ahly in May.
Group G
Brazil - Weverton
Traditionally the preserve of a home-based player, Brazil haven’t let us down with their selection of Weverton. The 34-year-old plays with Palmeiras and, rarely for a Brazilian international, has never played club football abroad. While only 8 caps at senior level, his international highlight was winning Olympic gold in 2016. Weverton saved Germany’s 5th penalty allowing Neymar to score and win Brazil’s first ever gold medal (in Rio too, of course).
Switzerland - Gregor Kobel
The only European side to bring four keepers, the Swiss were first to announce this majesty and for that we must thank them. Number four is Philip Kohn of Red Bull Salzburg and he’s uncapped at 24. He represented Germany, being born there, until switching to Switzerland at under 19 level. 3rd choice is, you’ve probably guessed from the geography involved, another Bundesliga starter. Gregor Kobel has established himself as Borussia Dortmund’s first choice this season and the 24 year old has earned 3 caps.
Serbia - Vanja Milinković-Savić
There might be a temptation to say Vanja Milinković-Savić is purely there as a vibes man, seeing as his brother is one of the nation’s most important players, but Vanya has established himself as a starter with Torino in Serie A and he’s having a decent season. With 6 caps he’s the least experienced keeper but he’s started more games recently than number one Marko Dmitrovic who’s struggled to get into the Sevilla team. Predrag Rajković has most caps and starts with Mallorca in La Liga. There’s really not much between the three.
Cameroon - Simon Ngapandouetnbu
19-year-old Simon Ngapandouetnbu is the youngest keeper at the tournament and he’s yet to play for his club, Marseille, or for his country. He has played for Marseille’s reserve team in the French third tier though. Cameroon’s second choice is Devis Epassy who plays in Saudi Arabia and earned five caps last year.
Group H
Uruguay - Sebastian Sosa
Sebastian Sosa made his international debut last year as Uruguay beat Panama 5-0 in a friendly. He hasn’t added to the caps yet but he’s off to the World Cup, now aged 36. He’s played in Uruguay and Mexico but now plays with Independiente in Argentina. He played in back-to-back losing Copa Libertadores finals in 2011 and 2012 for Penarol and Boca Juniors.
Portugal - Jose Sa
Jose Sa of Wolves is uncapped and 29 years old. He’s in his second year in England having joined from Olympiakos. He had his first taste of tournament TCG in the 2017 Confederations Cup when still with Porto but 5 years on, he still hasn’t made an appearance for the national team.
Ghana - Ibrahim Danlad
Another uncapped player, Ibrahim Danlad will turn 20 on the 2nd of December so will hope to still be in Qatar to celebrate. He plays his football with Asante Kotoko in Ghana and is one of only 2 home based players in the squad. Asante Kotoko are the current Ghanaian champions.
South Korea - Song Bum-keun
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors supply 6 players for the Korean squad including the third-choice goalkeeper Song Bum-keun. He’s 25 and made his senior international debut earlier this year against Japan. He was the first choice for the Korean Olympic team in Japan last year.
-
So there you have it. 32 third choice keepers, 3 fourth choice keepers and a few bonus selections thrown in for good measure. Enjoy the World Cup, knowing these lads are being paid to watch the games from the best seats in the house and have a kick about with their mates. They really are the luckiest men.
