There have been standout performances by goalkeepers so far, with the Americans repeatedly frustrated by Sweden’s Zecira Musovic in the round of 16. The Chelsea keeper produced a string of saves and was voted player of the match as the U.S dominated but couldn’t find a breakthrough in the game that ended 0-0 through extra time.
Netherlands keeper Daphne van Domselaar was player of the match as the Dutch advanced to the quarterfinals by beating South Africa 2-0.
While that game saw South Africa keeper Kaylin Swart make an error to allow Lineth Beerensteyn to score, she also pulled off a string of saves to keep the Netherlands at bay.
Nigeria’s captain Chiamaka Nnadozie’s made a crucial save to deny Canada’s Christine Sinclair a place in history in a scoreless opening draw, earning her player of the match accolades.
“Of course everything is not perfect, but I think we are going in the right direction,” said former Germany keeper Nadine Angerer, who is part of FIFA’s technical study group at the World Cup.
“What we’ve seen so far in general is that there are way better goalkeeping performances.”
Angerer said the save percentage in the group stage improved from 70% in 2019 to 77%.
