Best Handball Goalkeeper Statistics to Measure

Outfield players get counted on everything: goals, assists, steals, turnovers, blocks, technical faults. Goalkeepers usually get one number, their save percentage. That is odd, given that save efficiency is closely linked to how far teams go in major championships.

Our rule of thumb is simple. If a statistic doesn't change what you do in training next week, you can probably skip it.

These are the five we keep coming back to.

1. Save percentage per zone (9m, 6m, wing, 7m, fast break)

Judging a goalkeeper without knowing where the shots came from is a bit like judging a football striker without separating penalties from long shots.

The differences between zones are large. At the 2017 Women's World Championship, goalkeepers saved about 44% of 9-meter shots and around 16% of breakthroughs (Gómez-López et al., 2020). A study of the men's European Championships from 2010 to 2020 found that saves on shots from beyond 9 meters had the strongest link to how high a team finished (Marinček Ribežl & Bon, 2022).

Each zone tests something different. The target ranges below are the same elite ranges we use for expected saves (xSV) in Handball GoalieAnalytics:

• 9 meters: Working with the block, reaction speed and seeing the ball through screens. Target: 38–48%.
• Wings: Closing the angle, patience and footwork on tight-angle shots. Target: 30–38%.
• 6 meters and breakthroughs: Patience in one-on-ones, making yourself big, and not giving up on the next shot. Target: 25–30%.
• 7-meter throws: Reading the shooter and staying calm. Target: 20–25%.

2. Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAE)

We go through this in more detail in our article on Expected Saves (xSV). In short, GSAE is how many more (or fewer) saves the goalkeeper made than the shots called for.

3. Where the goals go in

Where in the goal is the goalkeeper conceding? Split the goal into a 3×3 grid (high left, high center, high right and so on) and habits start to show up:

• High corners: Says a lot about leg push and arm position.
• Low shots and bounce shots: Shows how quickly the goalkeeper gets the legs down.
• Mid height: Lateral movement and balance.

Want to try it on real numbers? Open a goalkeeper in our demo team and pick a zone on the goal map. The rest of the page filters to the shots that went there.

4. 7-meter throws and the shooters' habits

A 7-meter throw is a duel between two people. If you log where opponents put their penalties over a season, you slowly build up your own scouting notes:

• Does their usual penalty taker go for a bounce shot when it is tight?
• Does your goalkeeper do better staying on the line or stepping out?

Those notes are worth a lot before the matches that really count. Our guide on how to save 7-meter throws goes through what to log and how to judge penalties fairly.

5. Saves in different phases of the match

Not every save weighs the same. A save in the fifth minute when you are up by six is nice. A save at 24–24 with two minutes left can decide the match.

So it is worth splitting saves by match situation:

• First half vs. second half: A drop late in matches can point to fatigue or a lapse in concentration. Over a season it is also one of the things worth following match by match.
• Tight finishes (within two goals, last ten minutes): Shows how the goalkeeper handles pressure.

Do you need an analytics team for this?

No. Keeping track of five different things with pen and paper during a fast handball match is close to impossible, but on a phone it works.

In Handball GoalieAnalytics, a parent or assistant coach logs each shot in a couple of seconds. Zone percentages, GSAE and heatmaps are calculated from that, without any extra work.

Checklist

1. Split shots by zone (9m, 6m, wing).
2. Use GSAE to judge the goalkeeper regardless of the defense in front.
3. Log where the goals go in, to find what to train.
4. Keep notes on opponents' 7-meter habits.
5. Follow how saves change late in matches.