Harry Kane had already scored three when Tottenham needed him to stop one. England’s future record scorer finished a Europa League match against Asteras Tripolis in October 2014 with a hat-trick, a pair of goalkeeper gloves and a handling mistake to his name.
Hugo Lloris had been sent off in the 87th minute, with Spurs’ substitutions already used. Kane took over at 5–0, then let Jerónimo Barrales’s low free kick slip through his grasp. Tottenham still won comfortably. The striker’s three goals had given his brief goalkeeping career a generous margin for error.
Pelé had made the same unusual switch half a century earlier. In January 1964, he scored a hat-trick for Santos against Grêmio in the second leg of their 1963 Taça Brasil semifinal. When Gilmar was sent off near the end, Pelé went in goal.
There was much less room for a mistake. Santos led 4–3, and Pelé helped keep that score intact through the closing minutes. Two hat-trick scorers had ended up defending their own net, with very different leads to protect.
The sight of John Terry in goal at Reading in 2006 followed serious injuries to Petr Čech and Carlo Cudicini. Chelsea held on to win 1–0. Terry later explained that José Mourinho had already chosen him for emergencies: he practiced after training, and the kit man carried his gloves to every match. The assignment was less improvised than it looked.
The players trusted to take the gloves
Phil Jagielka had prepared, too. He later recalled that saving teammates’ shots during warmups had helped establish him as Sheffield United’s emergency option. He even had his own gloves, though he borrowed Paddy Kenny’s when Arsenal visited in December 2006.
Kenny went off injured after about an hour. United had no reserve goalkeeper on the bench, leaving Jagielka to protect a 1–0 lead for roughly half an hour. He stopped Robin van Persie and helped secure the win. He also kept Kenny’s shirt.
Niall Quinn had an even more direct influence on both ends of a match. Against Derby County in April 1991, he scored for Manchester City before replacing the dismissed Tony Coton in goal. Quinn then saved Dean Saunders’s penalty. Derby eventually scored, but City won 2–1: their opening scorer had also prevented an equalizer from the spot.
Olivier Giroud faced a similar demand at Genoa in October 2023. Milan led 1–0 when Mike Maignan was sent off in stoppage time, with all their substitutions used. Giroud took the gloves and rushed out to deny George Pușcaș, helping protect the win.
Afterward, he said he’d enjoyed playing in goal as a child and wanted to frame the shirt. Milan then announced goalkeeper jerseys personalized with his name and number.
Mia Hamm’s turn came at a World Cup. During the United States’ group match against Denmark in 1995, Briana Scurry was dismissed late on and Hamm finished in goal. The Americans won 2–0. Hamm later recalled that the situation only became funny once the game was over.
Enzo Pérez had to contemplate a whole match. A COVID outbreak left River Plate without their registered goalkeepers for a Copa Libertadores meeting with Independiente Santa Fe in May 2021. River could field just eleven players and had no substitutes.
Pérez took the position from kickoff. His teammates scored twice inside the opening six minutes, giving their stand-in a lead to defend. Santa Fe pulled a goal back in the second half, but River won 2–1. River later honored Pérez at its museum with a display including a match photograph and a glove.
Chaker Alhadhur faced an entire knockout match in goal for Comoros against Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2022. One regular goalkeeper was injured and two had initially tested positive for COVID. Ali Ahamada tested negative on match day but wasn’t cleared to return, leaving the left-back to start in goal.
An early red card also reduced Comoros to ten men. Cameroon eventually won 2–1, but Alhadhur produced a double save in the 53rd minute: first denying Vincent Aboubakar, then getting back up to stop Moumi Ngamaleu’s follow-up with both hands.
