Daphne van Domselaar — Scout report

Daphne van Domselaar has signed with English WSL team Aston Villa. The move isn’t weird in my eyes, but for international followers of Van Domselaar, some might have expected her to go to the absolute of European football — which she could. In an interview with the Dutch NOS, she stated that she wanted to make minutes and this would be the logical next step in her career.

What bothers me is that most of her praise comes only from her time at Euro 2022 — which was a remarkably strong tournament for Van Domselaar — but she has also played very good games with FC Twente in the Dutch Eredivisie.

In this scout report, I will use data and video to look at what goalkeeper she is and how well she performs both domestically and internationally.

Contents

1. Biography
2. Context
3. Seasonal stats
4. Shot-stopping
5. Ball distribution
6. Aerial strength
7. Sweeping
8. Final thoughts

Biography

• Name: Daphne van Donselaar
• Date of birth: 06–03–2000
• Nationality: Dutch
• Position: Goalkeeper
• Contract expires: 30–6–2026
• Current club: Aston Villa
• Previous clubs: LSVV(Y), Telstar (Y), FC Twente
• International: Netherlands (21 games)

Goalkeepers are always a bit tricky to analyse via data, but in this article we look at what kind of goalkeeper she is and how she manifests herself in different areas of goalkeeping.

Context

When evaluating goalkeepers in a scout report for football, there are several key areas to consider. Here are four important aspects that can be used to measure goalkeepers:

1. Shot-stopping ability: Assessing a goalkeeper’s shot-stopping ability involves evaluating their reflexes, positioning, and handling skills. Look for their agility and quickness in making saves, their ability to position themselves well to cover the goal effectively, and how they handle shots, including their ability to hold onto the ball or make controlled parries.
2. Distribution and passing: A goalkeeper’s distribution and passing skills are crucial in modern football. Look for their accuracy and range of distribution, both with their feet and throwing ability. A good goalkeeper should be able to distribute the ball quickly and accurately to start counter-attacks or initiate attacks from the back.
3. Command of the box: A key trait for goalkeepers is their ability to command their penalty area. This includes their communication with defenders, their decision-making when coming off the goal-line to claim crosses or high balls, and their presence in dealing with set-pieces and aerial threats.
4. Decision-making and anticipation: Assess the goalkeeper’s decision-making abilities and their anticipation of game situations. This includes their ability to assess threats, make quick judgments on when to come off the line or stay back, and their decision-making in one-on-one situations.

Seasonal stats

In the graph above you can see how Van Domselaar scores in comparison to her goalkeeping peers in the Eredivisie with at least 500 minutes played. These are percentile ranks which give us an idea of how good she is comparing to the whole dataset of Eredivisie goalkeepers.

She scores in the 90th percentile and up for long passes %, Clean sheet %, Save % and the goals conceded. For the other metrics she scores below average, which leads us to believe she is very good at being a shot-stopper over other profiles. This we will investigate further down the line.

Shot-stopping ability

Assessing a goalkeeper’s shot-stopping ability involves evaluating their reflexes, positioning, and handling skills. Look for their agility and quickness in making saves, their ability to position themselves well to cover the goal effectively, and how they handle shots, including their ability to hold onto the ball or make controlled parries.

In the video above we see a collection of her saves and reflexes during games from Euro 2022, Dutch Eredivisie and some other international games with the Netherlands.

In terms of saving the ball, she does very well in saving shots from close distance as she makes herself large, comes towards the shooter and limits the chance of the shot going in goal. She has excellent reflexes and positions herself quite well, so that she always is in a good position to make it difficult for the opposition.

In terms of how she does save balls for mid to long-range, there is an element of physical technique we need to focus on. What she does well is covering the near corner. Instead of leaning on the leg facing the long corner and moving along with it, she stands her ground and makes sure her leg facing the near corner is touching the ground. In this way she could trust that leg when there is a shot into the near post and can recover the ground quite well.

What is a testament to how well-rounded she is, is the fact that she uses her legs well to make saves and I mean this in the way that she can block shots. Also keeps the legs shut, so shots can’t go between the legs.

She doesn’t always save the ball and parry it into the right area, but because she is so quick getting off the ground and positions herself very well for the second phase, she can make great saves again — even if she could prevent that with making sure she does it better the first phase. That’s not often though, and usually she can make a catching diving same, without releasing the ball.

She has a decent record with saving penalties and of the reasons for that is that she acts rather late on them. She waits and tries to analyse where the attacker is going to shoot the ball and that allows her to get behind the ball in the right area.

Distribution

A goalkeeper’s distribution and passing skills are crucial in modern football. Look for their accuracy and range of distribution, both with their feet and throwing ability. A good goalkeeper should be able to distribute the ball quickly and accurately to start counter-attacks or initiate attacks from the back.

Ball distribution is crucial for a goalkeeper as it directly impacts the team’s overall play. A goalkeeper’s ability to distribute the ball accurately and swiftly can initiate counterattacks, maintain possession, and create scoring opportunities. By making precise long-range passes or launching goal kicks to specific areas, the goalkeeper can bypass opponents and instantly involve teammates in the game. Effective ball distribution also relieves pressure on the defence, allowing them to push forward. Furthermore, it enables quick transitions from defence to offence, catching opponents off guard. Ultimately, a goalkeeper with excellent ball distribution skills enhances team dynamics, increases scoring chances, and contributes to overall success.

In the video above you Van Domselaar in the games against FC Twente’s rival Ajax. Every goalkeeper can kick the ball long or pass the ball around, but how you do it makes you a certain style of goalkeeper.

She has an excellent ball striking technique and has the ability to throw the ball over a decent distance. She can be a ball-playing goalkeeper and act as the fifth defender in defence, but she often opts not too. But she has the ability to do so. She passes the ball short to her central defenders or medium-long to her full backs — with great accuracy.

When she is pressed aggressively, she takes no risks and kicks the ball long. Not only for the attackers to go into the aerial duels, but also to relieve pressure on the defence and to make sure that FC Twente can regroup everything, so they are better organised in the case of the next attack against them.

Goalkicks and situations without pressures lead to long balls into the middle third/attacking third and Twente’s game plan was to win the duels in that area and use that to pose a threat to Ajax. Van Domselaar is excellent in these situations. And, maybe she doesn’t use all of her skills in the way she did at FC Twente, she is a very complete distributing goalkeeper.

Aerial command

A key trait for goalkeepers is their ability to command their penalty area. This includes their communication with defenders, their decision-making when coming off the goal-line to claim crosses or high balls, and their presence in dealing with set-pieces and aerial threats.

If there is something that is worrying with Van Domselaar, it is this area of goalkeeping: aerial command of the box. There are two different scenarios where she has to claim the ball.

In scenario 1 she is unopposed or it is a ball from deep. Whenever she has the room to progress and catch the ball, that isn’t a problem and she can start an attack quite quickly.

In scenario 2, however, more questions arise. In the video above you can see it in most cases, but whenever there is a deep cross, a set piece or a cross in general — she seems to struggle with catching the ball.

This can have a variety of reasons, one not to forget is that her defenders are not always positioned evenly. But in terms of positioning herself and making sure she can get to the right areas, she can definitely improve. If you come out for the ball and can’t claim it or drop it, the opposition will take advantage of it and that will be killing in the WSL.

Sweeping

Sweeping is vital for a goalkeeper as it extends their influence beyond the penalty area and enhances the team’s defensive capabilities. By being proactive and adept at sweeping, a goalkeeper can prevent potential threats by rushing out of the box to intercept through balls or clear loose balls that have bypassed the defense. Sweeping effectively reduces the opponent’s chances to exploit space behind the defense, providing an additional layer of protection. It also enables the goalkeeper to act as a sweeper-keeper, contributing to the team’s possession-based style of play by acting as an extra outfield player and initiating attacks from deep positions.

We have to be honest here and confirm that Van Domselaar isn’t a sweeper keeper with Twente. Despite FC Twente’s attacking play, she was never encouraged to entertain any actions outside of the box, nor did the defenders have that role so she could act on that.

Just like with the distribution, there’s a reason to believe she can be part of a more progressive, dominant style of goalkeeping, but she hasn’t shown it yet with FC Twente or too much with the national team. She stays mostly in her box and in this specific area of goalkeeping she is quite conservative and doesn’t want to take risks.

This might change with her move to Aston Villa where maybe more is asked of her specific skills and move involved in the build-up phase of the game. The WSL, however, is a transition-based league and therefore the counter-attack narrative could be more important.

As you can see in these few clips, Van Domselaar can make a save/claim the ball and directly spot any runners going deep. For her it’s vital to be quick and give that decisive pass that will give her team an edge in the counter-attack while the defensive team hasn’t set up well.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, Daphne van Domselaar is a highly talented goalkeeper who has shown her capabilities both domestically and internationally. Her shot-stopping ability is outstanding, as she exhibits excellent reflexes, positioning, and handling skills.

She excels in saving shots from close range and also on mid to long-range shots. Van Domselaar’s ball distribution skills are commendable, with accurate short passes and the ability to launch long balls effectively. Her aerial command of the box is an area that needs improvement, particularly when dealing with crosses and set-pieces.

As for sweeping, she has not been extensively involved in this aspect but may have the potential to contribute more in a progressive style of play. Overall, her move to Aston Villa in the English WSL provides an opportunity for her to further develop her skills and contribute to the team’s success.