The Anonymous Widower

It’s Hugo Lloris vs Jordan Pickford And There’s Only One Winner

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Telegraph.

This is the introductory paragraph.

By most measures, Jordan Pickford has been the better keeper than Hugo Lloris this season — especially when it comes to penalties

The Telegraph uses statistics from a specialist goalkeeping statistics site, which is called Goalkeeper-XG.

So I would tend to put a high level of trust in their deductions.

I found the Telegraph article, when I was looking for any article about the two team captains, Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris, who both play for Tottenham Hotspur, where Lloris is captain.

I also suspect that in training.

• Harry Kane has probably scored more penalties than any other player has against Hugo Lloris.
• Hugo Lloris has probably saved more penalties than any other keeper from Harry Kane.

The two players probably know each other’s strengths and weaknesses well and in addition.

• Eric Dier of Tottenham has played many games in front of Lloris, is also in the England team.
• I suspect several of the England team have taken penalties or been in one-on-one situations with the French goalkeeper in Premier League games.
• Some England players may feel they have scores to settle, after Lloris denied them of a goal, because of a superb save.

All of this information, will be powerful in the hands and minds of England’s coaches and psychologists.

On the other hand, with the notable exception of Olivier Giroud, I suspect that only a handful of the French players have faced Jordan Pickford in a goal-scoring opportunity.

I feel that the battle of the goalkeepers will be key tonight.

December 10, 2022 - Posted by AnonW | Sport | England vs France, Eric Dier, Football, Goalkeeper-XG, Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris, Jordan Pickford, Psychology, Statistics, Tottenham Hotspur, World Cup 2022