A roundup of the top news stories from the goalkeeping world between the 18th and 25th of February.
Header Image: via TNT Sports
Courtois hints at Belgium national team return
The long-running saga between Thibaut Courtois and the Belgian national team that began with the goalkeeper's self-imposed exile under previous manager Domenico Tedesco may soon be coming to an end.
'I really missed playing for Belgium... it's been a year and a half, now I'm ready to come back,' Courtois told the Koora Break podcast, as reported by Spanish outlet Marca, last weekend.
The Real Madrid number one's last appearances for Belgium came during a EUROs qualifier against Austria in June 2023. He refused to play for his country until Domenico Tedesco was replaced as first-team manager.
In August 2024, after a lengthy injury absence, Courtois announced he was ruling himself out of selection for Belgium revealing he 'lacked confidence' in the current management and would not return until change was made.
Areola becomes first goalkeeper to gain Premier League win and clean sheet at the Emirates this season
Before Saturday’s three o’clock kick-offs, the last team to win a Premier League game at the Emirates was Aston Villa, when Ollie Watkins crushed their title hopes. West Ham were another team in claret and blue to win at the Emirates last season, beating Arsenal 2-0 thanks to goals from Soucek and Mavropanos.
The Hammers went on to win Saturday's London clash 1-0 as Jarrod Bowen scored the winner. Despite having twenty attempts n goal, Areola only had to save two shots as Arsenal’s lack of ruthlessness was on show once again. It was another fantastic day for West Ham at the Emirates and another clean sheet there for Areola.
Could James Trafford have become a jockey?
A more peculiar story emerged this week surrounding Burnley's James Trafford. The Mirror revealed recently that his grandfather wanted him to be a farmer or a jockey. Trafford said, "Grandpa always said, ‘he has to be a farmer’ but he really wanted one of us to be a jockey — but we were all too tall!"
Instead, the Burnley star pursued his football dream. He credits his farming upbringing and the values in instilled in him as reasons behind his footballing rise. It’s safe to say that Trafford's choice of sport definitely paid off.
Jorgensen mistake highlights Chelsea’s goalkeeping woes again
The 5.30 kick off in the Premier League on Saturday saw a struggling Chelsea side travel to Villa Park in an attempt to kick-start a better run of form. The game started brilliantly for Maresca’s side as Enzo Fernandez grabbed an early lead after some great Pedro Neto footwork. Villa had a second-half resurgence though as Asensio grabbed an equaliser before the hour mark. It was the 89th minute and a draw looked like an almost inevitable outcome.
Villa had a corner which ended up finding its way to Marcus Rashford, who set up Marco Asensio once again. His volleyed attempt went straight through Chelsea's Filip Jorgensen in goal, giving Villa a dramatic, late win. Enzo Maresca, however, backed his goalkeeper in post-match press conferences, explaining that Jorgensen recognised the error and that nothing had changed in the gaffer's stance on his starting role.
History-making Shamrock Rovers suffer penalty shootout heartbreak
On Thursday, Shamrock Rovers welcomed Molde, from Norway, to the Tallaght Stadium for the second leg Conference League play-off tie. Shamrock Rovers became the first team in Irish football history to make the knockouts of a European tournament, and they wanted to advance to the last 16 and continue their incredible journey. They secured a 1-0 win away at Molde, leaving the aggregate victory up for the taking at home. The game ended 1-0 to Molde.
After a long thirty minutes of extra time, penalties were commenced. It was perfect penalty after perfect penalty until Aaron Greene had his penalty denied by Molde goalkeeper Jacob Karlstrom. The Norwegians save was all it took to win the tie as his teammates all converted the penalties that followed. Karlstrom received the player of the match award and crushed Irish hearts.
