Having completed the last 16 of the Euro hosted in Germany, the quarter-finals are the focus of attention and, like the previous round of 16, the semi-finals and the upcoming final, a key element in progress may be the presence of a formidable goalkeeper, especially considering the likelihood of a penalty shootout. Italy’s previous European Championship victory, decided on penalties in the final, underlines how a goalkeeper’s prowess can reshape the narrative of the tournament and we have already seen impressive performances from players like Portugal’s Costa this year.
Yann Sommer, Swiss goalkeeper
One of the teams that managed to get through the group stage and the round of 16 against Italy is Switzerland, which has a world-class goalkeeper in its ranks. We are talking about Yann Sommer, who at 35 years old, had a great season with Inter Milan, playing 43 matches. Sommer made his debut made his debut for the national team in 2012 and has since accumulated 94 caps.
Check out England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s penalty rating.
How many penalties did Sommer save?
Sommer is regarded as one of the best penalty stoppers in European football, with an impressive record in this area. Throughout his long career, The Swiss goalkeeper stopped 16 penalties during the regular match. The most recent case was in January this year, when he saved a penalty from Nicolás González in a match won by Inter Milan against Fiorentina.
Moreover, according to data from Transfer market, he faced 79 penalties. Therefore, his the save percentage per game is 16.84%, having stopped 16 of the 95 penalties he faced.
| Penalty shootout match | Opponent | Penalties incurred | Penalties stopped |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europa League 2012-13 | Tottenham | 3 | 1 |
| Swiss Cup 2012-13 | Grasshopper | 5 | 0 |
| German Cup 2014-15 | Arminia Bielefeld | 6 | 1 |
| Euro 2016 | Poland | 5 | 0 |
| German Cup 2016-17 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 8 | 1 |
| Nations League 2019 | England | 6 | 0 |
| Euro 2021 | France | 5 | 1 |
| Euro 2021 | Spain | 5 | 1 |
| Champions League 2023-24 | Atletico Madrid | 4 | 1 |
| Euro 2024 | England | 5 | 0 |
How good is Sommer at penalty kicks?
Sommer also excels in penalty shootouts. In particular, He stopped a penalty from Frenchman Kylian Mbappé in the round of 16 At the last European Championship, Switzerland secured its place in the next round. Recently, its team, Inter Milan, faced Atlético Madrid in the round of 16 of the Champions League. Sommer stopped Saul’s penalty, But that wasn’t enough to secure victory. As the table above shows, Sommer has prevented six penalty shootouts, most recently in a crucial Euro 24 quarter-final against England.
