Even though the overall FTBL score of Slovenia’s goalkeeper Samir Handanovic appears unconvincing at 57.04 points at the moment and despite his 60th place in our world ranking, it might still be foolish to underestimate him.

The performance of a goalkeeper depends to a large extent on the overall performance of the team: if the team loses, the goalkeeper’s numbers tank. And since his current club Udinese appear to be unraveling in the Serie A (they have won just one of their last 6 games and dropped from 5th to 13th in the standings), it would have been odd if Handanovic’s rating has not fallen as a result. Yet he has been near-perfect with the national team: he conceded his last goal with the squad back in April, and he has lined up 3 “clean” games. Handanovic is also an acknowledged penalty expert: he has saved 3 this year alone!

Provided the Slovenes produce a good performance against the Russians next Saturday, Handanovic could very substantially boost his overall FTBL ratings, since, in addition, two games with a negative balance of -2 rating points will be dropped from his Last Five.