58 days to the World Cup: A niche feat in goalkeeping — and Poland has done it twice on the global stage

The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on! Each day ahead of the tournament’s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world’s biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year’s global event.

Penalty kick saves are the peak of good goalkeeping. To get a denial on a near-guaranteed goal involves incredible reflexes, a locked-in mental game, and perhaps a little bit of luck.

Most keepers don’t have their PK saving skills tested until a game reaches a penalty shootout, which is a relatively common occurrence in the high-stakes World Cup tournament. But when a referee points to the spot in the middle of a game, the goalie must be ready.

There are a number of keepers who have successfully blocked one non-shootout penalty kick during a World Cup game. But only three goalies have done it twice in one tournament, with Poland’s Jan Tomaszewski and Wojciech Szczęsny, and the United States’ Brad Friedel making up the only members of that club.

Goalkeepers that have saved two mid-game penalties in the same #FIFAWorldCup:

🧤 Jan Tomaszewski (1974)
🧤 Brad Friedel (2002)
🧤 Wojciech Szczęsny (2022)

Brick Walls 🧱

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) April 18, 2024

Jan Tomaszewski (1974)

In his first World Cup as Poland’s starting goalkeeper, Tomaszewski became the first keeper to save two (non-shootout) penalties in one World Cup tournament. In the second group stage (this was back when the World Cup had a very different format), Tomaszewski came up big with a penalty save against Sweden, before doing the same against West Germany, the eventual champions, two games later.

Tomaszewski helped lead Poland to a third-place finish that year, and set a new precedent for the tournament.

Brad Friedel (2002)

Friedel took on the mantle of starting goalkeeper for the United States men’s national team in 2002, holding down the goal as the USMNT ended in the quarterfinals. In the group stage, Friedel picked up two penalty saves: one against South Korea, and another against Poland.

For the South Korean attempt, Friedel’s save against the post, and the subsequent save on the rebound, helped hold the host country to a 1-1 draw; that draw eventually secured the USMNT’s second-place finish in the group to advance to the knockout stage.

The Poland save didn’t end up changing the final score — the U.S. lost 3-1 after conceding two goals in the first five minutes — but it did secure Friedel’s reputation as a brick wall keeper.

Wojciech Szczęsny (2022)

The veteran Polish goalkeeper became the most recent player (and the second from Poland) to achieve the feat in Qatar. His first penalty save was a stunner, with Szczęsny getting his hands on a shot from Saudi Arabia’s Salem Aldawsari and then blocking a rebound shot from Mohammed Alburayk.

Four days later, Szczęsny did it again, this time getting the PK save on Argentina’s Lionel Messi with a spectacular dive and an outstretched left hand. Argentina went on to win 2-0, but it didn’t matter: Szczęsny denying Messi will forever live in FIFA history.