Målvakten var nära att rädda straffen.

Målvakten means the goalkeeper.

It comes from:

• målvakt = goalkeeper
• -en = the definite singular ending for many en-words

So:

• en målvakt = a goalkeeper
• målvakten = the goalkeeper

It is also a compound word:

• mål = goal
• vakt = guard/watchman

So literally it is something like goal-guard.

Var is the past tense of är / vara (to be).

So:

• är = is
• var = was

That means the sentence is talking about a past situation:

• Målvakten var nära att rädda straffen. = The goalkeeper was close to saving the penalty.

If you wanted present tense, you would say:

• Målvakten är nära att rädda straffen. = The goalkeeper is close to saving the penalty.

Nära att means close to or on the verge of doing something.

The pattern is:

• vara nära att + infinitive

So:

• var nära att rädda = was close to saving

This is a very common Swedish structure. It often corresponds to English be close to doing something or almost do something.

Compare:

• Han var nära att falla. = He was close to falling.
• Jag var nära att glömma det. = I almost forgot it.

Because after att, Swedish normally uses the infinitive form of the verb.

So:

• rädda = to save
• räddade = saved

In this sentence, var is already the main finite verb, and att rädda is an infinitive phrase:

• var = was
• att rädda = to save

So the structure is basically:

• The goalkeeper was close to saving the penalty
• Swedish: Målvakten var nära att rädda straffen

Here straffen means the penalty or more specifically the penalty kick in football/soccer.

That is why a goalkeeper can rädda straffen (save the penalty).

So in this sentence, it does not mean a general punishment in an abstract sense. It refers to a sports situation.

This is a very good question, because straff can behave differently depending on meaning.

In general Swedish:

• ett straff = a punishment / a penalty
• straffet = the punishment / the penalty

But in football, people often say:

• en straff = a penalty kick
• straffen = the penalty kick

So in this sentence, straffen is the sports meaning, which is why it takes the -en ending.

Yes, that is also possible.

• Målvakten var nära att rädda straffen = The goalkeeper was close to saving the penalty.
• Målvakten nästan räddade straffen = The goalkeeper almost saved the penalty.

The meaning is very similar, but there is a slight nuance:

• var nära att ... sounds a little more descriptive
• nästan ... sounds a little more direct

Both are natural Swedish.

The sentence can be divided like this:

• Målvakten = subject
• var = finite verb
• nära att rädda straffen = the rest of the predicate

Inside the infinitive phrase:

• rädda = infinitive verb
• straffen = object

So the structure is:

• [Subject] [was] [close to saving] [the penalty]

This is quite similar to English, except Swedish uses att + infinitive here.

Yes. Nära is usually an adjective or adverb related to the idea of near/close.

In this sentence it is used after var in the expression:

• vara nära att ... = to be close to ...

So even though nära often means physical closeness, it can also describe being close to an action happening:

• Han stod nära dörren. = He stood near the door.
• Han var nära att somna. = He was close to falling asleep.

You could make both nouns indefinite:

• En målvakt var nära att rädda en straff.

But in real usage, that sounds less natural unless you are speaking very generally or telling a story where the people have not been introduced yet.

The original sentence:

• Målvakten var nära att rädda straffen.

sounds more natural in a typical match situation, where both the goalkeeper and the penalty are already known in context.