Goalkeeper-specific attributes

Goalkeepers carry six keeper-specific attributes: reflexes, aerial ability, one-on-ones, handling, command of area and kicking. On a freshly generated keeper those six are rolled straight off his ability — reflexes lands around 95% of it, handling 90%, one-on-ones 88%, aerial ability 85%, command of area 80% and kicking 75%, each with a small random variance. So on most cards reflexes reads highest and kicking lowest, and that ordering is built in rather than scouted.

What the engine actually reads

Shot-stopping is decided by the keeper's effective ability — the average of every effective attribute once condition, morale and fatigue have scaled them — turned into an xG multiplier: 1 − (ability ÷ 100) × 0.22. A keeper rated 90 removes about 20% of the expected goal from every shot he faces; a keeper rated 50 removes about 11%. The model never looks at a single keeper attribute when it decides whether a shot goes in. If no recognised keeper is on the pitch at all, it falls back to an ability of 55 — a leaky default worth avoiding.

Where the six attributes do their work

Through that average, and through training. Goalkeeper-specific training develops exactly this set, and every point they move shifts the average the save model divides by — which is why a keeper whose whole card sits in the 80s saves more than one in the 50s even before form enters the picture. Energy, morale and fatigue scale attributes before the average is taken, so a tired or unhappy keeper concedes more without a single number on his card changing. And when a save event resolves, the engine credits it to the keeper with a weighting of 50 against 0.01 for any outfielder, multiplied by agility, positioning and composure — in practice the keeper takes every save he makes, and those three are simply the attributes the model names on the note.

Scouting a keeper

Scout on overall level first — the average is the number the engine uses — and on condition and morale second, because those scale it. A keeper with a lower headline ability but a strong all-round card, behind a rested and happy squad, will outperform a higher-rated one running on empty.

Backup keeper

Don't neglect your number two. A season runs long and injuries to the starter happen, and the fallback when nobody is between the posts is that ability of 55 — worse than any real keeper you own. Cup minutes keep the deputy's condition and morale healthy, and both feed straight into the average that decides his saves.