David De Gea has been one of the most consistent players in English Premier League over the past few seasons, and is widely regarded among the world’s leading goalkeepers. But stats at the ongoing 2018 World Cup tell a somewhat different story as David De Gea holds a rather embarrassing record between the sticks in Russia.
The Spaniard conceded three goals against Portugal (all by Cristiano Ronaldo) in their opening group match including an absolute howler for Cristiano Ronaldo’s second of the contest and a stir was caused about the Manchecter United goalkeeper. Spain then took on Iran in their second group game and ran out narrow 1-0 winners. De Gea wasn’t worked once by an opposing shot, aside from Saeid Ezatolahi’s strike which ended in the net as the minnows threatened a World Cup shock, which was ruled out for being offside by VAR.
At that point, De Gea was the only goalkeeper at the World Cup without a save in two games. Then came their last group match against Morocco – and the debate returned. The 27-year-old made his first save of the tournament in Spain’s 2-2 draw with Morocco — an incredible 205 minutes into his campaign — with a diving save to deny Khalid Boutaib. But prior to that, he had faced four shots and conceded four goals.
So does all the sudden criticism, given the stats and odds stacked against him in Russia, tell the true story of easily the best shot-stopper and one of the most sought-after goalkeepers on the planet?
Spain has sealed progression to the round of 16 of the World Cup and despite rumours that he could be dropped, De Gea will certainly get more time to improve his record as his nation as he is the undisputed first-choice between the posts. Before the tournament, David de Gea more than justified La Roja’s faith in him. With his uncanny sense of positioning and height, the Spain goalkeeper fills the goal, which make him a formidable opponent in one-on-one situations. There is much more to his game. He also stands out for his amazing reflexes and is very comfortable with the ball at his feet. His vision and distritbution are top-notch and he uses these effectively in launching counter-attacks, and to link up with his forwards, providing the alternative direct approach to Spain’s game.
David de Gea’s seeming under-performance in the last two weeks pales out significantly against the backdrop of his consistently proven abilities and experience. And so for all the ado about his “flaws”, statistics will always tell a certain part of the story – not the entirety – which is often far from the realities in a game as fallible and unpredictable as modern football.