From our Total Football Analysis Magazine – TFA 2025 Breakout XI:
In this magazine edition, we are delving into a special report on John Pulskamp — an emerging talent currently playing as goalkeeper for Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer.
Throughout the 2024 season in senior club competitions, he played 930 minutes in 10 games, conceding 19 goals and keeping one clean sheet.
Though the stats aren’t outstanding, our scout report will go into detail on why Pulskamp is viewed as a rising talent in US soccer.
His market value is currently estimated to be € 400,000, and his contract with Sporting Kansas City is set to expire on December 31, 2025.
In this scout report, we will examine his effectiveness on the ball, helping the club with build-up play and distribution, and other factors in his game, such as his sweeper-keeper abilities and reading of the game.
What Makes A Goalkeeper Great?
What makes a goalkeeper great in modern football is being comfortable with the ball at their feet.
There has been an overemphasis in today’s game on keepers moving a few yards up and playing as centre-backs during the build-up.
This creates an 11v10 scenario on the pitch as the keeper assumes that role and absorbs the pressure from the striker.
From the 2010s until now, there has been a rising need for keepers to act as sweepers, making clearances and racing to the ball for tackles.
Manuel Neuer has significantly influenced this trend.
Think of ‘50s-’60s black and white cinema with wide-angle lenses and grains scattered across the TV.
Over the decades, there has been a progression.
First came the introduction of colour in TV and movies, which is the equivalent of keepers coming out of the box more often than sweepers.
In the 2010s and 2020s, we have IMAX quality and audio, corresponding to keepers having technical ability on the same level as centre-backs.
The demand for goalkeeper’s skills has been increasing.
Of course, keepers should make saves and be quick on their feet along their line, but now the tide has changed.
John Pulskamp Radar Chart
John Pulskamp’s radar chart highlights areas where he excels, reflecting his evolving skill set in modern football.
Below are two key aspects we would like to address.
Notably, his rating for “Sliding Tackles” is exceptional, scoring in the 95.3rd percentile among goalkeepers.
This indicates his proficiency in aggressive defensive manoeuvres, which are crucial in one-on-one situations.
His ranking in the “Long Ball Ratio” at the 68.9th percentile showcases his ability to progress the ball forward with the ball at his feet.
Keepers typically do not have a high long-ball ratio, as it is essentially a gamble when playing long, and as the saying goes, “the house wins.”
This means the odds of your long ball being successful and accurate from such a distance typically won’t be completed the majority of the time, but being roughly in the 69th percentile is a great start.
Build-Up Play
Pulskamp plays a pivotal role in his club’s tactics, often opting to go long instead of playing to the centre-backs, but his build-up work could be improved.
What separates the best keepers from the average keeper is the split second before releasing the ball, the one final look up to decide whether to follow through with the pass.
In the image above, he’s looking to play out the back to his wing-back, but if he had looked up for just a second before releasing the ball, he would see the opponent running towards that wing-back who ends up intercepting the ball.
This moment of awareness can dramatically influence the outcome.
It’s crucial for a goalkeeper who is heavily involved in team distribution and tactics.
This example above illustrates a similar scenario, opting for a long, one-time pass.
If Pulskamp kept his head up, he would see that there was no immediate pressure and could take a touch.
Even if he decides to go long still, that extra touch and look up changes everything.
There might be a better opportunity to go wide with the full-back than going long, or maybe long is the right choice.
However, taking another touch could set up his pass better, allowing for a more calculated pass.
This kind of awareness and decision-making can elevate a goalkeeper’s game, making them crucial in shaping the team’s attack from the back.
This image represents what should happen consistently.
Elite ‘keepers don’t need to look at the floor to know where the ball is.
They envision and calculate the pass as soon as it leaves their teammate’s foot and starts rolling towards them.
With their heads up, they can make smarter decisions.
Their ability to assess the field allows them to choose the best passing options, whether to retain possession or launch a long ball.
What really makes something stand out during a match is a player with confidence.
Once again, keeping that head up is key, but in this scenario, these are the moments you show how good you are on the ball.
You don’t have to boot it out of play when a striker runs at you.
Instead, you can roll it behind your legs to the other side and throw the striker off.
These are the moments when players increase their exposure, showboat, and enhance their market value.
It’s evident that he’s great on the ball and extremely accurate with his passes, but keeping his head up is crucial.
This not only helps in maintaining possession under pressure but also showcases the keeper’s calmness and confidence.
John Pulskamp pass map for the 2024 season shows how often he likes to go long.
We can see just how far his passes are taking his team.
They are almost into a zone of the pitch that’s easy to transition into the final third, and his passes play a crucial role in their attack from the keeper’s spot.
Sweeper Keeper
Pulskamp is generally fast and agile when coming out of his box.
In set-piece play, excluding corners, he is confident in his ability to leave his line and will challenge the opponent for the ball.
There is more hesitation during corners, which is normal given the difficulty caused by the many surrounding players.
The first image above is a perfect example of reading the play, coming out to collect the cross, and showing your dominance in the box.
This action shows the goalkeeper’s ability to anticipate incoming balls and assert control in dangerous areas.
But there is a slight hesitation on coming out for these crosses in his game, which could lead to costly errors; either you fully commit or you don’t; there’s no such thing as a half commitment.
One critical aspect of his game that I want to highlight is how he approaches collecting crosses with the mindset of “let the ball come to me,” waiting for the ball to inch closer to his position rather than actively moving towards it.
Everyone has seen keepers coming out to collect crosses but waiting for the ball to come to them, and somehow, the opponent gets their head on the ball before it reaches the keeper into an empty net.
If Pulskamp can adopt the mindset of going towards the ball rather than expecting it to come to him, he will be more confident in aerial duels and significantly improve his sweeper-keeper game.
John Pulskamp’s heat map shows some intensity just outside the box, where he sometimes comes out to receive the ball when the team is looking to reset the play.
It would be great if there were growing signs of faded tiles showing more light intensity on the edges, but his ability to come off his line with speed is certainly there.
It’s just about getting rid of that slight hesitation.
Overcoming this hesitation will enable him to be more decisive in controlling the space around his goal.
With limited game time, it isn’t easy to fully assess some statistics, such as the heat and touch maps, but we can examine the foundation.
The touch map shows some touches outside the 18-yard box, which is great.
Hopefully, with more minutes, we can see him venture out of the box or towards the edge of the box more often, working on his sweeper-keeper skills.
Shot Stopping Capabilities
Kansas City finished 13th out of 14 teams in the Western Conference of the MLS, making it one of the weakest teams in the league.
Therefore, it’s challenging to judge a goalkeeper based on goals conceded when playing for a club that allows more shots than usual.
For example, the expected goals (xG) Pulskamp faced in his limited minutes can be attributed to the club’s defensive weaknesses rather than his abilities.
This context is crucial when evaluating his performances in shot-stopping.
Pulskamp is a great shot-stopper and has rapid reflexes.
When coming out of his box in scenarios like these, he does a great job of making himself look big and covering as much of the net as possible.
His ability to expand his presence is crucial in reducing the angles for attackers, which he excels at doing at a young age and early in his career.
John Pulskamp’s save map above provides more context for his 2024 season, showing he faced 13 expected goals (xG) and prevented -5 goals.
It’s essential to take into account his limited minutes when evaluating these statistics.
This suggests that, despite facing a significant number of shots, the negative goal-prevention metric may reflect the team’s overall defensive challenges.
Conclusion
John Pulskamp is a keeper to watch.
The young talent still has many years to improve his game and has shown some promising signs in his current team with a foundation to build off.
He’s got very fast reflexes, can make himself big to be a great shot-stopper, comes out to collect crosses, and is very accurate in his long passes.
If he can fix some of the slight hesitation in stepping off his line, keep his head up when passing in the build-up, and stay calm, he can definitely rise through the ranks of world football in terms of a keeper.
With limited minutes in the MLS, it may be more beneficial for him to seek a move abroad to Europe.
