RIO DE JANEIRO, Jul 2 (AFP): Lionel Messi, Neymar and Robin van Persie make the headlines, but the World Cup's real heroes have been goalkeepers like Tim Howard, Guillermo Ochoa and Julio Cesar who throw themselves into the line of fire.
"Two words .. TIM HOWARD #respect," was the simple Twitter comment made by Belgium's captain Vincent Kompany within minutes of his country finally beating the United States in the last 16 on Tuesday.
Belgium's Romelu Lukaku, who hit the winning goal, and Dries Mertens, both hugged Howard at the end of their 120-minute onslaught on the 35-year-old Everton goalkeeper.
Howard's 16 saves, some at point blank range, two spectacularly flicked over the crossbar, were a record for a goalkeeper in a World Cup match since 1966.
This WC\\\'s real heroes are goalkeepers
FE Team | Published: July 03, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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