World Cups and European Championships.
Penalty shootouts. Within penalty shootouts, 71 different goalkeepers faced 473 penalties. On average, the goalkeeper success rate was 26.29 percent (SD = 21.51; 13.55 for percent saved; SD = 15.90). A univariate ANOVA revealed neither a main effect for the factor nationality on the goalkeeper success rates (F[8, 62] = 0.752, p = .646, η² = 0.088) nor on the percentages saved (F[8, 62] = 1.369, p = .228, η² = 0.150). Although the effect was non-significant, it can be considered a medium effect for the total success rate and a large effect for the percentage of saved penalties by statistical convention. None of the Bonferroni corrected pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences between any of the analyzed nations (all p > .99). Hence, there were no significant differences between the success rates or percentages saved of goalkeepers from different nations. A Kruskal-Wallis test for the nine different nation categories confirmed this non-significant effect on goalkeeper success rates (χ2 = 7.764, df = 8, p = .457) and on percentages saved (χ2 = 10.476, df = 8, p = .233). None of the nations significantly (all p > .179, two-tailed) differed from the overall sample mean success rate of 26.29 percent nor from the overall sample mean of 13.55 percent saved penalties (all p > .166; except for the Netherlands who saved significantly less penalties: 1.67 %, SD = 2.88, p = .019).
In-game penalties. Within in-game penalties, 142 different goalkeepers faced 237 penalties. On average, the goalkeeper success rate was 19.18 percent (SD = 33.40; 8.41 for percent saved; SD = 23.16). A univariate ANOVA revealed neither a main effect for the factor nationality on the goalkeeper success rates (F[8, 133] = 0.376, p = .932, η² = 0.022) nor on the percentages saved (F[8, 133] = 0.222, p = .987, η² = 0.013). Although the effect was non-significant, it can be considered a small effect for both the total success rate and the percentage of saved penalties by statistical convention. None of the Bonferroni corrected pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences between any of the analyzed nations (all p > .99). Hence, there were no significant differences between the success rates of goalkeepers from different nations. A Kruskal-Wallis test for the nine different nation categories confirmed this non-significant effect on goalkeeper success rates (χ2 = 4.668, df = 8, p = .792) and on percentages saved (χ2 = 4.166, df = 8, p = .842). None of the nations significantly (all p > .469, two-tailed) differed from the overall sample mean success rate of 19.18 percent nor from the overall sample mean of 8.41 percent saved penalties (all p > .544). The goalkeeper performance (success rate) in World Cups and European Championships as a function of nationality and type of penalty kick (shootout vs. in-game) is shown in Figure 1.
Champions League and Europa League.
Penalty shootouts. Within penalty shootouts, 48 different goalkeepers faced 311 penalties. On average, the goalkeeper success rate was 27.95 percent (SD = 19.58; 20.35 for percent saved; SD = 18.23). A univariate ANOVA revealed neither a main effect for the factor nationality on the goalkeeper success rates (F[7, 40] = 0.944, p = .484, η² = 0.142) nor on the percentages saved (F[7, 40] = 0.734, p = .644, η² = 0.114). Although the effect was non-significant, it can be considered a large effect for the total success rate and a medium effect for the percentage of saved penalties by statistical convention. None of the Bonferroni corrected pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences between any of the analyzed nations (all p > .99). Hence, there were no significant differences between the success rates of goalkeepers from different nations. A Kruskal-Wallis test for the nine different nation categories confirmed this non-significant effect on goalkeeper success rates (χ2 = 7.124, df = 7, p = .416) and on percentages saved (χ2 = 6.079, df = 7, p = .531). None of the nations significantly (all p > .085, two-tailed) differed from the overall sample mean success rate of 27.95 percent nor from the overall sample mean of 20.35 percent saved penalties (all p > .192; except for the Netherlands who saved significantly less penalties: 6.75 %, SD = 7.81, p = .040).
In-game penalties. Within in-game penalties, 512 different goalkeepers faced 1,358 penalties. On average, the goalkeeper success rate was 23.47 percent (SD = 32.02; 18.76 for percent saved penalties; SD = 29.89). A univariate ANOVA revealed neither a main effect for the factor nationality on the goalkeeper success rates (F[8, 503] = 0.372, p = .935, η² = 0.006) nor on the percentages saved (F[8, 503] = 0.945, p = .479, η² = 0.015). Although the effect was non-significant, it can be considered a small effect for the percentage of saved penalties by statistical convention. None of the Bonferroni corrected pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences between any of the analyzed nations (all p > .99). Hence, there were no significant differences between the success rates of goalkeepers from different nations. A Kruskal-Wallis test for the nine different nation categories confirmed this non-significant effect on goalkeeper success rates (χ2 = 3.459, df = 8, p = .902) and on percentages saved (χ2 = 7.847, df = 8, p = .449). None of the nations significantly (all p > .223, two-tailed) differed from the overall sample mean success rate of 23.47 percent nor from the overall sample mean of 18.76 percent saved penalties (all p > .222; except for the Netherlands who saved significantly less penalties: 7.44 %, SD = 13.61, p = .005). The goalkeeper performance (success rate) in Champions and Europa League matches as a function of nationality and type of penalty kick (shootout vs. in-game) is shown in Figure 2.
Combined Analyses Collapsed over all Penalties
Across all four tournaments, 629 different goalkeepers faced a total of 2,379 penalty kicks. On average, the goalkeeper success rate was 22.25 percent (SD = 29.89; 16.83 percent for saved penalties; SD = 27.46). A univariate ANOVA revealed neither a main effect for the factor nationality on the goalkeeper success rates (F[8, 620] = 0.651, p = .734, η² = 0.008) nor on the percentages saved (F[8, 620] = 0.878, p = .535, η² = 0.011). Although the effect was non-significant, it can be considered a small effect for the percentage of saved penalties by statistical convention. None of the Bonferroni corrected pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences between any of the analyzed nations (all p > .99). Hence, there were no significant differences between the success rates of goalkeepers from different nations. A Kruskal-Wallis test for the nine different nation categories confirmed this non-significant effect on goalkeeper success rates (χ2 = 9.380, df = 8, p = .311) and on percentages saved (χ2 = 13.240, df = 8, p = .104). None of the nations significantly (all p > .143, two-tailed) differed from the overall sample mean success rate of 22.25 percent (except for the Netherlands: 12.98 %, SD = 14.91, p = .017) nor from the 16.83 percent saved penalties (all p > .261; except for the Netherlands who saved significantly less penalties: 6.39 %, SD = 13.61, p = .001). The goalkeeper performance (success rate) in penalty kicks faced during World Cups and European Championships as well as during Champions and Europa League matches as a function of nationality is shown in Figure 3.