Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope has opened up on his suspension for the 2023 Carabao Cup final while speaking on Ben Foster’s podcast.
Pope has been a brilliant signing for Newcastle United, proving a key part of their success during the Eddie Howe era.
Newcastle spent £10million to sign Pope, and to say that the 33-year-old has repaid that would be an understatement.
Howe loves working with Pope at Newcastle and has kept him as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper despite the summer arrival of Aaron Ramsdale.
The 10-cap England international has pulled off a series of fine saves during his time at the club and was part of the side who lifted the Carabao Cup back in March.
That was something of a redemption for Pope, who missed the 2023 final defeat to Manchester United through suspension. Now, he’s reflected on having to sit out of that game.
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Nick Pope reflects on 2023 Carabao Cup final suspension
Pope was infamously sent off against Liverpool in February 2023 for a handball outside of his box.
After Alisson Becker’s long ball freed Mohamed Salah, Pope attempted to beat the onrushing Liverpool to the ball. He slipped, however, and was shown a straight red card for a handball.
That ruled him out of the trip to Wembley and, with Martin Dubravka cup-tied, Loris Karius instead had to play.
Karius did not embarrass himself by any means but Howe’s side lost 2-0 to Manchester United.
Pope was speaking on Fozcast and said: “I didn’t sleep for days, if I’m honest. It was a difficult period – this would’ve been a Saturday night game, then you go back into training, and the next game is a final, and you know you’re not playing.
“The build-up to the final was a massive thing, and I’d never been in a final before – it was a tough period. You’re thinking you’re never going to get another shot – I was 31/32 at the time, and by the time Newcastle next get to a final, I could be long gone, realistically.
“It motivated the life out me, because there’s a small window where I’m going to be Newcastle United’s goalkeeper and we’re going to have a top team.
“Within that window, we’ve got a chance to win something, and I could be a part of that. It lit a fire inside of me – but the days after, you’re not sleeping and you feel like the worst person ever. People text you and you don’t want to speak to anyone. You bump into anyone in the street, and they want to talk about it. The lads rallied around me and were great.
“After that, I said to myself, I’ve had a good season at that point, it was a bit of a blip, and we had a massive run in to get into the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. That was more fuel as well.”
Nick Pope earned Newcastle United redemption in 2025 Carabao Cup final
Thankfully, Newcastle made it back to Wembley in March 2025 and avenged that defeat.
While Dan Burn and, unfortunately, Alexander Isak took many of the plaudits for the win over Liverpool in the most recent Carabao Cup final, Pope’s contribution is not to be overlooked.
Indeed, Pope pulled off a brilliant save to deny Curtis Jones in the 2025 Carabao Cup final, just as Arne Slot’s side were moving into the ascendancy.
Without that crucial intervention, things could have got a lot more nervy even before Federico Chiesa’s late goal.
Pope certainly played his part in Newcastle’s greatest day in living memory.
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