The chaos of an outfield player pulling on a pair of gloves and going in goal is one of football's great joys.
It's become even more of a rarity in this era of five substitutions, but the sheer madness of such an occurrence has provided plenty of memorable moments over the years – and our list includes some of the biggest stars in the history of the game/
Let's get straight to to it, shall we?!
We begin with the curious case of Kyrgyzstan, who had their entire goalkeeping contingent sidelined by Covid ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Mongolia and Myanmar in 2021.
As such, defender Ayzar Akmatov had to play in goal for the first of those games – which the Central Asian nation lost 1-0 – with forward Ernist Batyrkanov donning the gloves for the second match, an 8-1 win in which we assume he wasn’t too busy.
Irishman Michael Doyle grew up playing the rough-and-tumble sport of Gaelic football, which he credited for his fine performance between the sticks for Notts County against Dagenham & Redbridge in 2021.
County had named a goalkeeper on the bench for the National League clash, so when number one Sam Slocombe was set off after just 18 minutes, it was over to Doyle for the rest of the game – and he helped the Magpies to a 3-1 win, not conceding until stoppage time.
Cult hero Dean Windass produced his fair share of memorable moments, none more so than his spectacular volleyed winner for Hull in the 2008 Championship play-off final – and it was less than a year after that highlight that the striker tried his hand at goalkeeping.
While on loan at League One Oldham, Windass played most of the second half in goal away to Leicester after Greg Fleming saw red, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw.
David Hirst once recorded the fastest shot of all time, almost breaking the crossbar with a 114mph striker for Sheffield Wednesday against Arsenal in 1996.
Five years earlier, the striker had tried to keep (considerably slower) attempts out of his own net, deputising in goal after Kevin Pressman was forced off injured 10 minutes from time with Wednesday out of substitutes. He kept a clean sheet as Ron Atkinson’s side beat Manchester City 2-0 in the old First Division.
The Argentine striker with the awful rat-tail, Rodrigo Palacio had a go between the sticks during Inter’s 2012/13 Coppa Italia tie against Verona.
Replacing the injured Luca Castellazzi for the final 16 minutes of the match, Palacio made two saves to ensure the Nerazzurri held out for a 2-0 win.
Manchester United were cruising to victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane in 2007 when Edwin van der Sar had to go off with a broken nose – and Sir Alex Ferguson had already used all of his substitutes.
It was over to John O’Shea to wear the gloves for the last nine minutes, and the adaptable Irishman proved even more versatile than usual as he helped United secure three points in style with a 4-0 win.
In their second group game of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (which actually took place in 2022 due to Covid), the Ivory Coast twice threw away the lead to draw 2-2 with Sierra Leone.
And it might have been worse without the goalkeeping efforts of right-back Serge Aurier, who took over late on from Badra Ali Sangare – who injured himself gifting Sierra Leone their second equaliser – and had work to do to ensure his country picked up a point.
Derby had a bit of a nightmare in the goalkeeping department during their Championship trip to Reading in 2010, losing Stephen Bywater to injury and back-up shot-stopper Saul Deeney to a red card before half-time.
As a result, captain Robbie Savage filled in for the final hour of the game – and while the penalty he had to face following Deeney’s dismissal was blazed over the bar, he conceded twice in a 4-1 defeat.
Not many outfield players can say they’ve played in goal, and even fewer can say they’ve done it for both club and country.
Former Arsenal midfielder, Henri Lansbury is one of them, though, deputising for England U21s in a 2010 friendly against Germany after Jason Steele – himself a substitute for starter Scott Loach – was given his marching orders, then reprising the role for 35 minutes of West Ham’s 4-1 Championship win over Blackpool in 2012 – following Rob Green’s sending off.
Brazilian midfield enforcer Felipe Melo won three Turkish Super Lig titles with Galatasaray, and he had to fill in between the sticks en route to one of them.
Gala were 1-0 up away to Elazigspor in 2012 when first choice Fernando Muslera conceded an 89th-minute penalty and saw red. They needn’t have worried, however: Melo saved from 12 yards to help his side take all three points, then whipped out his customary ‘pitbull’ celebration at full-time.
Liverpool were already 2-0 down at Newcastle in April 2012 when goalkeeper Pepe Reina was given a straight red card for squaring up to James Perch.
Left-back and fellow Spaniard Jose Enrique had to go in goal for the remaining 13 minutes, on his first visit to St. James’ Park since leaving the Magpies for the Reds the previous summer.
Turkey reached the last 16 of Euro 2008 the hard way, coming from 2-0 down after 75 minutes to beat the Czech Republic 3-2 in their final group game.
And one of the greatest matches in European Championship history was to get even more dramatic: Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Demirel was dismissed for shoving Jan Koller in the second of four added minutes, meaning star forward Tuncay had to glove up as his country clung on to advance at the Czechs’ expense.
As Chile’s women prepared for the gold medal match of the 2023 Pan-American Games (the Americas’ version of the Olympics, essentially), they faced a bit of a problem: none of their goalkeepers were eligible to play, having been recalled by their clubs.
It was over to forward Maria Jose Urrutia, then, and she produced an impressive performance between the sticks in a 1-0 loss to Mexico.
Rio Ferdinand conceded the only goal of the game in Manchester United’s 2007/08 FA Cup quarter-final exit to Portsmouth at Old Trafford – a 78th-minute penalty given away by Tomasz Kuszczak, who was shown a straight red card.
And the legendary centre-back looked incredibly awkward with the gloves on – which just made it all the more fun to watch, to be honest!
Goalkeeper kits are supposed to be a bit lairy, and Kyle Walker ended up wearing a particularly garish one when he had to deputise for Manchester City during their Champions League group clash with Atalanta in 2019.
With Ederson subbed off injured and replacement Claudio Bravo red-carded, Pep Guardiola brought Walker on as a makeshift custodian – and the right-back, rocking a pink and purple goalie top with orange outfield shorts, kept a clean sheet and made more saves than either of City’s actual ‘keepers as they held on for a 1-1 draw in Italy to clinch a last-16 berth.
Play for long enough and you get to see it all, as Olivier Giroud realised when he got the chance to pull on the gloves for Milan in 2023.
The veteran French striker deputised for the dismissed Mike Maignan late on in a Serie A game away to Genoa, making a string of saves as Milan held on to win 1-0 in a game which had enough stoppage time for another red card – for home ‘keeper Josep Martinez, would you believe?!
For his heroics out of position, Giroud was named in Serie A’s team of the week.
Standing at almost six-foot-eight tall, Jan Koller ought to have made a pretty good goalkeeper had he not carved out a career as a fearsome striker.
And the towering Czech got the chance to show what he was made of between the sticks, playing almost half-an-hour in goal for Borussia Dortmund during their 2002 Der Klassiker encounter with archi-rivals Bayern Munich.
Dortmund lost the match, but Koller kept a clean sheet and was selected by Kicker magazine as their goalkeeper of the week.
Chelsea’s goalkeepers were really in the wars away at Reading in October 2006, Petr Cech suffering the serious skull fracture which led to him wearing a headguard for the rest of his career, and replacement Carlo Cudicini getting knocked unconscious late in the game.
Captain John Terry had to come to the rescue by donning the gloves for the final moments, and he helped the Blues run out 1-0 winners.
One of the all-time greats of the women’s game, legendary striker Mia Hamm racked up an almighty 276 caps for the USA – scoring 158 goals.
She also appeared at the other end of the pitch on the grandest stage: at the 1995 Women’s World Cup, where she saw out the State’s 2-0 group win over Denmark between the sticks following a red card for Briana Scurry.
Lucas Radebe spent the majority of his career with Leeds, captaining them and becoming an enormous fan favourite at Elland Road – where he played half a game in goal against Middlesbrough in March 1996, taking over from concussed number one John Lukic in a 1-0 defeat.
A matter of weeks later at Old Trafford, the South African icon found himself between the sticks again – for most of the game, in fact, replacing red-carded Mark Beeney and producing an inspired performance as Leeds lost 1-0 again.
After the match, Alex Ferguson accused Leeds’ players of only trying against United – which prompted Kevin Keegan to go on a certain rant and, well, you know the rest…
For his club’s final game of the 1981/82 Ligue 1 campaign against Nantes, Bordeaux president Claude Bez orchestrated one of the most genius protests in football history.
With regular goalkeeper Dragan Pantelic slapped with a 12-month ban for kicking a linesman, it was decided that skipper Alain Giresse, a midfielder, would start in his place – only he wasn’t actually named as a ‘keeper, so he wasn’t allowed to use his hands, a quite deliberate move on Bez’s part.
After letting in five goals inside the first hour, Giresse made way for another all-time French great, centre-half Marius Tresor – who conceded only once as Bordeaux wound up losing 6-0.
Tottenham finished the 1960/61 season as champions of England – and they scored in every game en route to doing so.
Spurs were still on course for that feat when they travelled to Manchester United in January, especially after United goalkeeper Harry Gregg was forced off injured midway through the first half.
Stand-in Alex Dawson had other ideas, though, the Scottish forward looking right at home between the sticks as he became the first of just two players to register a clean sheet against the North Londoners that term.
Chelsea were going through a right old goalkeeping crisis in the lead-up to their December 1971 First Division home fixture against Ipswich Town – and they found an unlikely saviour in defender David Webb.
Webb had already replaced the injured Bonetti partway through the previous game against Coventry, and he impressed so much that, with back-up custodians John Phillips and Steve Sherwood injured and [checks notes] stuck in traffic respectively, he started between the sticks.
And he only went and kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win!
He’s one of the greatest strikers in world football, but Harry Kane has also had a go at trying to keep the ball out of the net.
Having hit a hat-trick for Tottenham in a 2014/15 Europa League match against Greek outfit Asteras Tripoli, Kane volunteered to stand in for the red-carded Hugo Lloris late on. Spurs won comfortably – but their future record goalscorer proved why he hadn’t pursued goalkeeping full-time, letting a free-kick roll under his body and in.
Another player associated with scoring goals rather than preventing them, Niall Quinn had already struck for Manchester City when he replaced dismissed number one Tony Coton against Derby in 1991.
The beanpole Irish striker’s first job was to try and save a penalty from Dean Saunders – and he succeeded, ensuring City ran out 2-1 winners.
Simply one of the most prolific goalscorers in the history of the game, German icon Gerd Muller aka ‘Der Bomber’ got a feel for goalkeeping while playing for Bayern Munich.
The legendary frontman’s brief cameo between the sticks came during a 4-0 victory over Hamburg in 1965, when he took over from the injured Sepp Maier.
Chief rabble-rouser of Wimbledon’s notorious ‘Crazy Gang’, Vinnie Jones surprised absolutely no one by going in goal and having a whale of a time.
The great hardman memorably served as his side’s last line of defence in October 1995’s Premier League trip to Newcastle – where, with the Dons having used all three substitutes, he stepped in to replace red-carded ‘keeper Paul Heald.
Jones conceded three goals in a 6-1 drubbing – which wasn’t actually a fair reflection on his commendable goalkeeping abilities.
Among the finest defenders ever to grace the pitch, captain Bobby Moore played behind his West Ham backline during a 1972 League Cup semi-final clash with Stoke.
Deputising for injured first choice Bobby Ferguson, England’s 1966 World Cup-winning skipper even saved a penalty (only for the Potters to score from the rebound and advance to the final).
Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock rated centre-back Phil Jagielka so highly as a goalkeeper that he didn’t feel the need to name an actual shot-stopper on the bench.
It looked like Warnock’s decision might backfire when the Blades had Paddy Kenny sent off for clashing with Millwall captain Kevin Muscat at half-time of a 2004 Championship game – but Jagielka conceded just one goal, which his team fought back from to win 2-1.
He repaid his manager’s faith even more remarkably two years later, standing in once again for Kenny – who this time had to go off injured – for the last 30 minutes at home to Arsenal in the Premier League, pulling off a sublime fingertip save from Robin van Persie in a surprise 1-0 victory.
You probably know him as one of England’s classiest midfielders, but Glenn Hoddle was a player of many talents – as evidenced by his three cameos in goal for Tottenham, including one against Leeds and another against Manchester united.
In the first of those games, Hoddle replaced the injured Barry Daines between the sticks after only 12 minutes and helped Spurs secure a 2-1 win. “I enjoyed it,” he said.
He then found himself pulling on the gloves against United after Milija Aleksic broke his jaw. That match, an FA Cup tie, went all the way to extra time – and Hoddle kept a clean sheet as Spurs eventually won it through a fantastic last-gasp goal from Ossie Ardiles.
Pele once called Alfredo Di Stefano the best player of all time – which probably didn’t have anything to do with the goalkeeping ability of the ‘Blond Arrow’.
But the Real Madrid legend did play there once, early in his career at River Plate – in a Superclasico victory over bitter rivals Boca Juniors, of all occasions!
But Pele ought to have known a thing or two about goalkeeping: he deputised for Santos in 1964, after regular custodian Gilmar was sent for an early bath.
‘O Rei’ had already scored a hat-trick in the second leg of the Brazilian league play-off semi-finals when he was called into service well and truly out of position – and he kept a clean sheet as Santos ran out 4-3 winners. They went on to win the title.
