KEYSTONE KOP: Spurs Shot-Stopper Talks!

Tottenham Hotspur’s impressive Dutch goalkeeper Lize Kop speaks exclusively to Helen M Jerome about the season ahead. And Spurs head coach Martin Ho adds his thoughts on her…

Talking in the impressively shiny and baking hot Spurs training centre near Enfield, Lize Kop looks very happy with life lately. Her background is impressive, a professional skier (yes, from one of the flattest countries in the world) when young, she then came through Ajax’s fine footballing academy.

When Kop joined the Ajax first team, she helped them win the Eredivisie title and went on to play in the Champions League with them. After six seasons and more than 100 appearances, including winning a second league title and the Dutch Cup, she moved to Leicester City for the 2023-24 season, crucially helping the Foxes avoid relegation from the WSL. 

Halfway through her second season with Leicester, she signed for Spurs in the January 2025 transfer window, and grabbed the Number One shirt with both hands. She’s also won 13 caps for the Netherlands, but it looks a harder task to nudge Daphne Van Domselaar off that top spot.

It’s been an extremely positive start to the 2025-26 season so far for Lize Kop, saving penalties – including one from Bunny Shaw – and even scoring one herself in a Subway Cup penalty shoot-out with Aston Villa. Not to mention keeping a couple of clean sheets, gelling with new defenders, and in the pre-season friendly away at Arsenal, helping Spurs to an unexpected victory.

Talking to Spurs head coach Martin Ho about Kop, we first addressed her growing confidence. He agreed and said that, more importantly something he really wants from the goalkeepers is “to be brave, to come out and collect the ball and really dominate that six-yard area.”

According to Ho, who likes to wave his arms around on the touchline like an air traffic controller, Kop’s own communication style (above, right) has also become more expressive and vocal. “I think with Lize, you see that now. She’s full of confidence, full of belief. And she’s now starting to really control that back line, which she does.”

“More importantly, when she controls that and puts that infectious touch on it, that’ll go into the next line, the next line. It’s something I really want to instil, and it can take you a long way. And Lize starts with that with the communication from the back.”

Tell me a bit about Martin Ho, and how he compares with other managers you’ve had?

Lize Kop: I think he’s very engaged, he’s a perfectionist and that’s really good to improve the game. You need someone on top of things to help us improve as a player and as a person, and he’s really good at that.

These things are so important. He wants to make us improve and really be honest to us when we need to do things better. He puts a lot of energy in and it’s very positive in these moments as well.

How do you manage to do all those things and still keep your head, keep calm?

I think you need to learn which moment you need to focus. Like when they get closer to the goal, obviously like at a certain point you need to be like, I’m going to focus on the ball and need to know that the rest is like, I’ve fixed it really well.

I’ve managed that before and now I know that there are so many players there and I can fix it. I try to talk as much as I can before that, until it’s really the moment where I need to do my job. But I think I really speak to my players, it helps me in the game, but it helps them as well.

I try to be very constructive I try to be like: step left, step right, those kind of things. I try to be very detailed in what they need to do, because that helps the most and of course it’s got to be short things because I don’t have a lot of time to explain what the players need to do.

Has Martin asked you to be more assertive, is there anything specific he’s changed about your style?

I think just recognising the game, speed of play, more like little details that that they’re more on top of it. And that’s really good, that helps me a lot, just recognising more before what I need to do.

What do you think of the new eight-second rule (to stop time wasting)?

I think it’s going to be interesting. I understand that they changed it, because they didn’t really use the six-second rule and it was too short.

It’s a bit like with penalties – we have to stay on the line, always these moments, if you want to get rid of time wasting, then be more sharp on throw-ins and stuff.

But I think it’s easy to regulate if you make a corner from it. It’s a good thing because I think an indirect free kick is hard.

The referees want to have a clear idea of what they’re doing and I think this is really helping them to be even more clear about it. I think as a team you need to work with it. Players need to be aware that I’ve got eight seconds and they need to be faster. That’s makes the game different and you just need to learn to work with it.

Did you hear the Arsenal fans behind you at Meadow Park (above) counting down the seconds?

I did hear them, but to be honest they were not really in my head, so for me it was fine, because we spoke about it today and I actually heard it, but it was not really putting pressure on me.

Is that something you’re able to do as a goalkeeper? You’re so close to the crowd, probably closer than anyone apart from the wingers, but are you able to zone out?

Sometimes you hear one particular thing, but I’m quite trained in just focusing on the things I need to do and keep myself busy in the game. But I also enjoy that the opposing fans are trying to make fun of you and then I’m like: you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. So I always find it funny.

Do you ever turn around and give them something back?

I would smile, yes, just smile.

You came to Spurs in January. So this is your first proper Spurs season. And I wondered what made you come to London.

I think just the idea the club had, was really in line with what I think is good for the game.

And that was a positive thing for me.

I think it’s been great, obviously like there’s been some change now this season, but they’re very positive so for me I’m really excited to start a season now. Also from the beginning I think to make a transfer in winter it’s quite hard to settle to arrange and fix everything, but the club helped really well with that and that made it easy to settle. The team was really nice so that helped me a lot but of course it’s nice when you can start a season being here.

Were there certain things they did to make you feel at home, parties or barbecue, were there things they invited you to make you feel?

Yeah, there was like one day we went go golfing and so they already invited for this kind of thing so that was really nice and we went for birthday dinner so yeah, I really enjoyed these moments.

Do you have friends at other London clubs? I was wondering about, even on the Arsenal side, Daphne and Pelova. And Kaptein at Chelsea. I wondered if you have got other people now, it’s easier to mix with other Dutch players.

Yeah, I do hang out with Vic (Pelova), and Vic has got a new puppy. I’m taking care of the dog sometimes. So yeah, I really like to hang out with Vic.

Looking at the season ahead, how important is it for Spurs after last season where you underperformed expectations, how important is it you crack on this season?

I think you just try to learn from last season why it didn’t happen. But I also feel like it’s a new season with new managers, with new staff. Like there’s so many new things that you don’t even, like you cannot really compare it with that.

Yeah, we are the same player group, but I think that it feels like a fresh start. So I think that’s going to be a good thing.

How about communication with your new 19-year-old Japanese centre-back, Toko Koga (above)? I presume she’s learning English at the same time as learning how you will play. Is there a different communication style?

Of course, I feel like she understands, because for me the first thing was like, do you understand? And I think she understands a lot, so that’s really good.

So how would you communicate with her?

I just talk to her and say what she needs to do. And sometimes I just ask if she understood me to just be clear about that. And I think that’s working really well.

How would you describe yourself as a keeper? What are your best qualities? Is it being a shot stopper or distribution with your feet? Or bravery or communication?

I think I’m an all-round goalkeeper. I’m really good in shot stopping and good with my feet. I’m able to play higher up, recognize the spaces. So yeah, I feel I’m all round, but I think I’m very explosive.

I always want to improve also mentally in those moments so I think just some little add-ons what I can do as a goalkeeper will help me to be even better. So I’m good at those moments and I feel like I’m really good at claiming crosses.

You’ve got to be quite brave and assertive

I used to be brave and not really think about it, and now I’m brave and think about my actions.

Playing out from the back, which has become more prevalent, being good with your feet, even if someone comes toward you, not just kick it away, how did you learn how to do that?

I used to play a lot with the boys as an outfield player, so I think that really helped me.

What position did you play?

A winger. I don’t understand why, because I cannot run, but it’s fine, it’s funny. I think that really helped me. And just playing with the boys a lot, being under a lot of pressure with these guys.

The boys expected a lot from me when I played with them, because when I played a shit pass – they’d be like why did you do that! And I think that makes you improve those things. I don’t know, it felt like it came quite naturally.

What’s improved most in your game in the last couple of seasons?

Good question. I think just the calmness, like calmness in actions, I think that’s the biggest improvement. It comes in the whole game and that really helps me.

Who was the role model for you growing up?

My grandmother! It’s just a mentality thing for me; it wasn’t normal to start playing football. I just had to start with boys, and there were no girls, actually no space. You had to ask: can I join?

My grandmother started her own job even though she was pregnant, which wasn’t normal back in those days and I think that’s really important for me. We can choose whatever we want to do and no-one’s going to tell me what I can and can’t do, and that’s a big thing for me.

If any little girls want to be a goalkeeper like you, what would your advice be?

For me, it’s just enjoying what you do and that’s the thing that helped me a lot. I just never thought about whatever I could be, because that perspective wasn’t really there.

I think that also helped me because I was just having fun. And because I had fun and I didn’t really think about it too much, it helped me grow and just play around.

Playing around helps a lot to get good talents, because if you start focusing on one thing too soon, I think you miss out on a lot of qualities you can have as a player.

In football, we sometimes focus on one thing we can do. But for example, I was a professional skier when I was young. And that helped me as well, I think of the qualities I had in that. I was young. Just feeling free in those moments.

The final question is your ambitions.

Well, for me as a player it’s important that I keep on improving, because there are always things you can improve.

I want to be more outspoken, making sure everyone feels welcome in the game. The environment in the game is an important thing for me. I think the game is changing in a positive way and just to make everyone still feel welcome and I think that’s important.