Nigerian-German goalkeeper Noah Atubolu has written his name into Bundesliga history after remarkably saving the last six penalties he has faced in the German top flight.
The 24-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper extended his extraordinary record last weekend when he denied Mainz midfielder Nadiem Amiri from the spot during Frankfurt’s 3-1 victory in the Rhine-Main derby.
Atubolu dived the right way to keep out Amiri’s first-half penalty with Frankfurt leading 1-0, a save which proved crucial as his side went on to claim all three points.
It was Atubolu’s sixth consecutive Bundesliga penalty save, extending a league record he had already established when he stopped his fifth successive spot-kick while playing for Freiburg against Werder Bremen in September 2025.
Remarkably, the six players denied by Atubolu during his record-breaking sequence are Josip Juranović, Kevin Volland, Florian Wirtz, André Silva, Romano Schmid and Nadiem Amiri.
His latest victim, Amiri, was no ordinary penalty taker. The Mainz midfielder had converted all 10 of his penalties in all competitions last season before coming up against Atubolu.
Atubolu’s Bundesliga penalty statistics are equally staggering. Only three players have converted from the spot against him in Germany’s top division, giving the goalkeeper a 66.7 per cent penalty-save rate, the best among Bundesliga goalkeepers to have faced at least three penalties.
“I was confident in myself and trusted my abilities,” Atubolu told DAZN after denying Amiri. “Everything turned out fine in the end.”
Nigerian Roots
Atubolu was born in Freiburg, Germany, on May 25, 2002, and has strong Nigerian roots. Eintracht Frankfurt’s official profile confirms that his parents are from Nigeria.
He came through Freiburg’s academy and established himself as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper before joining Eintracht Frankfurt on loan ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
Atubolu has represented Germany extensively at youth level, including as the country’s first-choice goalkeeper at the 2025 European Under-21 Championship, where Germany finished runners-up to England.
He has also received senior Germany call-ups but, as of March 2026, had yet to make his senior international debut.
His latest heroics have further enhanced his growing reputation as one of the Bundesliga’s outstanding young goalkeepers and arguably its most formidable specialist from 12 yards.
Atubolu’s record now officially stands alone: six Bundesliga penalties faced, six saved consecutively.
And judging by his current form, the next player who walks towards the penalty spot against him may already feel the pressure before taking the kick.