Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa saved Lewandowski’s penalty in the team’s Group C game in the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday.
The Mexican is famous for making crucial saves for his team in the World Cup. He made eight saves in a World Cup game against Brazil in 2014.
Ochoa’s accomplishments for Club América led to Mexico’s selections for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. In neither of those competitions, he took part in a single match.
Then, in 2014, Ochoa was selected as Mexico’s starting goalkeeper and recorded a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over Cameroon in the opening match.
In their second game, Mexico met the hosts Brazil, and that contest made Ochoa famous. He stopped Neymar’s spectacular header with one of his unbelievable six saves, holding Brazil to a scoreless tie.
He stopped three shots against the Netherlands for Mexico to advance to the round of 16, but the Dutch won 2-1 thanks to a late penalty.
Ochoa agreed to a three-year contract with La Liga team Málaga after the contest.
He only made a few appearances in two seasons before being sent out on loan to Granada, which caused his career to stagnate.
He signed with Belgian club Standard Liège in 2017, where he played frequently before the 2018 World Cup.
Ochoa demonstrated that his success in 2014 was not an anomaly. He made nine saves and recorded a clean sheet as Mexico defeated Germany 1-0 in their opening match. Ochoa made 25 saves throughout the course of four games, despite Mexico being eliminated in the round of 16.
Only Thibaut Courtois had more saves (27 in seven games).
Ochoa returned to Club América, where he has started for the past four years, after the 2018 competition, where he played one more season at Standard Liège.
This is perhaps Ochoa’s last opportunity, at the age of 37, to demonstrate his superhuman talents to Mexico and the rest of the globe.
“I’m lucky, I feel privileged to be in a fifth World Cup. For me, it’s something magnificent and I want this to be different, to be the best of all,” Ochoa had told the press before the match.
“I seek to give peace of mind every day to my teammates. We are in a World Cup and it is normal that the nerves are triggered. I seek to help others and to have an emotional balance before, in the game and after.”
“We know what Lewandowski is, we know his talent and the places where he has played. He’s a player who has the ability to change your game. It will be a major challenge for me and my teammates,” Ochoa had said and that proved crucial as he saved the Pole’s penalty in the game.
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