Killing a lazy stereotype

London: While Robert Green was grimly picking the ball out of the net on Saturday night, Nigeria's Vincent Enyeama was still accepting plaudits for a man-of-the-match performance against Argentina.

In an inversion of the usual stereotype, some Europe-based goalkeepers have struggled in the opening few matches of this World Cup while several African goalkeepers have excelled.

Enyeama's display was described by no less an attacking force than Lionel Messi, who he denied on at least five occasions, as "phenomenal". Diego Maradona praised his "exceptional performance" as he repelled wave after wave of Argentina attacks.

While other goalkeepers, from Green to Australia's Mark Schwarzer, appear to have been struggling with the way the new Adidas ball behaves at altitude, the 27-year-old saved his team from a drubbing and may have already delivered the best goalkeeping display of this World Cup.

Enyeama's brilliance did not come as any surprise to those who have been following the fortunes of this Nigerian team for some time. Frequently their best player during qualifying, the Hapoel Tel Aviv keeper was linked last summer with a move to the Premier League with Arsenal and Wigan both said to be interested.

Premier League beckons

A few more performances like Saturday's and he could well seal a switch to England, with West Ham United rumoured to be the latest club to express an interest.

But it is not just Enyeama who has turned conventional wisdom about African goalkeeping on its head during the opening week of the first World Cup on the continent.

While some of the goalkeeping in this year's Africa Cup of Nations still left much to be desired, the standard so far in South Africa suggests that among the top nations there has been a marked improvement.

"[The position of] Goalkeeper remains a problem position for many of Africa's best teams but there are enough very good keepers to end the stereotype of the ‘typically naive African goalkeeper'," said Steve Bloomfield, author of the book Africa United: How Football Explains Africa.

"Enyeama has been Nigeria's best player for some time and would not look out of place at a top European club. Cameroon's Idriss Kameni is a regular in La Liga while Egypt's Essam Al Hadary would, despite his age, still do a good job in the Premier League."

There have been other fine performances in the opening matches. Richard Kingson may not be able to get a game for Wigan Athletic in the Premier League but minutes before Asamoah Gyan scored the penalty that made Ghana the first African nation to secure a victory in this World Cup, he made a crucial stop from Serbia's Milos Krasic that ensured a clean sheet.

South Africa's goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was also praised in the wake of his team's opening draw with Mexico, during which he helped to repel a first half onslaught that could have left the hosts embarrassed.

Gary Bailey, the former Manchester United keeper, said Africa's No 1s could not be ranked among the best in the world until they had proved themselves at Europe's top clubs.

"One good match does not mean that Enyeama is a great goalkeeper and one bad match does not mean that Green is a bad goalkeeper. You need to judge a goalkeeper over the course of a tournament or a full season, not on one match," he said.

However, he conceded that Enyeama and others have the chance to make a name for themselves in the tournament.

"In a tournament you have got eight or nine matches. You don't have to be in the top 10 in the world to have a great eight or nine matches. This is a real chance for some of those guys to impress."

Bloomfield said that while there would still be indifferent performances by African goalkeepers, one legacy of this World Cup might be an end to lazy stereotyping.

"We should view African goalies the same way we view their European counterparts. Some are great, some are mediocre and others are in between. The worst mistake of the World Cup is likely to be Green's but I didn't hear anyone refer to it as ‘typically naive European goalkeeping'."