Emerging trends: The role of the goalkeeper in beach soccer

The goalkeeper is no longer just the key defender of the goals; they have evolved to become one of the most important players when their teams have the ball.

Our Technical Study Group (TSG) attended every match during FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles 2025™, and the role of the goalkeeper was a regular discussion point, as TSG expert Angelo Schirinzi explains.

“Goalkeepers are so strong with the ball at their feet that they are as influential now as outfield players when their team has possession. They can read the movements of players and have the right timing, accuracy and variety in their distribution techniques to deliver the ball to the right area, at the right time, with the right speed. They can even deliver the ball to the correct body part of their team-mates, and even more impressively, they can do it under pressure.

“This is changing the game of beach soccer because defending teams can no longer leave goalkeepers unopposed with the ball. It is fascinating to observe. They are so good now that we are even seeing team-mates playing back to their goalkeeper from attacking corners instead of delivering the ball in towards the opposition’s goal. This is because they now believe that playing the ball back to the goalkeeper will give them a better chance to score,” he added.

A total of 13 goals were scored by goalkeepers during this tournament, an increase of two from the previous FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup UAE 2024™, which was a record. They also provided 39 assists.

Senegal goalkeeper Ousseynou Faye (12) generated 37 attempts at goal — the most of all goalkeepers — and delivered two goals from his six attempts at goal on target as well as one assist. IR Iran goalkeeper Seyed Mirjalili (1) was also extremely influential, registering one goal and seven assists, with 12 of his 23 attempts at goal on target.

As Schirinzi mentioned, the range of goalkeeper distribution and the accuracy of those passes are key features of the influence of these players, with high rates of completion in long passes from both hands and feet.

An interesting development during this tournament was the increased frequency in corner situations where the attacking team played the ball back to their goalkeeper instead of the more traditional method of delivering it directly in towards the opponent’s goal.

According to Schirinzi, “Scoring directly from corners is becoming more difficult because of the tight marking by defenders, but a solution and alternative to that is now to play back to an unmarked goalkeeper who is technically good on the ball and very capable of striking at goal. Previously, we might have seen teams do this towards the end of a game when they were in a winning position and were managing the remaining time, but in this tournament, we saw this method used as a viable and effective mode of attack to generate goalscoring opportunities.”

IR Iran used this tactic the most frequently, playing 65.5% of their 29 attacking corners back to their goalkeeper. Paraguay were ranked second for the use of this approach, executing a pass back to their goalkeeper in 30% of their attacking corners.

While the role of the goalkeeper in possession is increasing, preventing the opposition team from scoring goals remains the primary objective. However, if the goalkeeper can prevent a goal from being scored and can retain possession of the ball to initiate fast attacks, this is an asset for their team.

As Schirinzi explains, “Transitional moments are very important in beach soccer, and if a goalkeeper can collect the ball after making a save and get to their feet quickly, they can start attacks before the opposition has a chance to get their defence organised. It is much harder to disrupt an organised defence, so these moments can be very important, especially in tight games.

“However, it is not always possible for the goalkeeper to retain the ball, and they just need to make important saves. Goalkeepers are working hard in training to improve their physicality and explosiveness, and in this tournament, we saw some truly outstanding saves, even when they were jumping from sand.”

Another consequence of the growing impact of the goalkeeper’s role in possession is a subsequent knock-on effect for the goalkeeper of the team that is defending. Due to the increasing need to apply pressure to the goalkeeper with the ball, defending teams must release an outfield player to exert that pressure, meaning that a member of the attacking team is left free. Defensive rotations can help to alleviate this, but in some situations, teams are now looking for their goalkeeper to be the player who marks the spare player.

Schirinzi uses the clip below to highlight an example of this scenario.

“As the play builds, we see how Belarus release outfield players to put pressure on Japan’s goalkeeper. At various times, this situation leaves goalkeeper Avgustov isolated in a 1v1 situation with an opposition attacker. This means that goalkeepers have to be aware that they may be required to mark an opponent, allowing their outfield players to put pressure on the ball and account for other opposition players. Goalkeepers need to be able to recognise situations and position themselves so they can protect their goal, but can also cover the spare player. They also need to communicate this to their nearest defenders so they can commit to other defensive situations, knowing and trusting that their goalkeeper has the spare player covered.

The goalkeeper is becoming a hugely influential position on the pitch, with significant responsibilities both in and out of possession. Having goalkeepers with different strengths can help coaches to implement tactical changes in games in response to game scenarios, further leading to the influence that players in this position can have. These attributes can strongly influence when and how coaches choose to utilise their goalkeepers.