David de Gea Quintana is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Manchester United and the Spain national team. He is regarded by many as the best goalkeeper in the world.
There are doubts in Spain over David de Gea’s form as they prepare for the knockout stages of the World Cup, admits Guillem Balague. The Manchester United goalkeeper has been at the top of his game domestically for the last five years, but Balague admits he must do more for Spain at this World Cup.
De Gea made a mistake to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to score in Spain’s opening 3-3 draw with Portugal, and has been criticised for his claiming of crosses and distribution in the 2-2 draw with Morocco on Monday evening.
“Nobody is questioning the fact he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Nobody. But everybody goes through ups and downs in form. What we’re seeing at the moment is a David de Gea not happy coming out from his goal-line, and the Spain goalkeeper has to be happy with that.
“He hasn’t seemed confident enough with his distribution, and of course having conceded that goal against Cristiano Ronaldo, his confidence seems to be low and impacting the defenders. I’m not sure Kepa, his No 2, would be somebody who could replace him, but this is not the best De Gea. Winning games all starts with the goalkeeper. You want to score, but he will save you games. He’s made one save in the entire World Cup. We need more from him.”