Tonight, football fans across England will be watching with bated breath to see if Gareth Southgate’s squad is strong enough to beat the Netherlands in the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
But as Saturday’s quarter-finals showed, 120 minutes of football is often not enough to separate two teams, leading to thrilling penalty shootouts.
How can players ensure they take the perfect penalty?
Geir Jordet, professor of psychology and football at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, and the world’s leading expert on the psychology of penalty kicks, has studied every penalty shootout at the World Cup, the European Championship and the Champions League from 1976 to 2022.
Speaking to MailOnline, he revealed his formula for success, which includes shooting boldly through the middle.
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TO LOOK UP!
Anyone who followed England’s successful penalty shootout against Switzerland on Saturday will have noticed that striker Ivan Toney never took his eyes off the keeper as he took his spot-kick.
The advantage of this technique, also known as the ‘keeper-dependent’ approach, is that the player can see exactly where the keeper is moving and can adjust his shot accordingly at the last moment.
This contrasts with the more traditional ‘keeper-independent’ approach, where the player chooses in advance where to shoot – and sticks strictly to his decision.
Although ‘goalkeeper dependent’ is not a new approach, more and more penalty takers are moving away from it, according to Professor Jordet, author of the book ‘Pressure: Lessons from the psychology of the penalty shoot out’.
According to him, around 30-35 percent now opt for a goalkeeper-dependent approach, an increase compared to around 10 percent in the 1970s and 1980s.
‘The traditional approach is to make a decision and never change. Now we argue the opposite,’ Professor Jordet told MailOnline.
Ivan Toney of England in action during the Euro 2024 quarter-final between England and Switzerland at Arena Düsseldorf on July 6, 2024 in Düsseldorf, Germany
Taking a penalty is undoubtedly the most nerve-wracking experience for a player – a single moment that can decide the outcome of an entire tournament
a Study 2021 found that the goalkeeper-centric strategy has a slightly higher chance of success, but Professor Jordet said it requires great emotional composure.
“The big limitation is you have to be really good at it and have the mental clarity and composure to basically stand over the ball with your foot up and you still haven’t decided where to shoot,” he said
If the goalkeeper looks up at the goal instead of down at the ground, this can also be interpreted as a sign of confidence, which can then influence the goalkeeper’s reaction.
DO NOT HURRY
Traditionally, penalty takers tend to shoot the ball almost immediately upon hearing the referee’s whistle, almost as if they are responding to an alarm signal.
But Professor Jordet’s data shows that the less of a hurry you are, the greater the chance that you will shoot the ball into the net from the spot.
According to him, it is likely that the player kicks the ball away as soon as possible after the whistle so that he can ‘get rid of the stress’, but it is ‘logical’ to wait much longer.
‘It’s useful to take a moment, at least for a few seconds, to check in with yourself, catch your breath and remind yourself what you want to do,’ the academic told MailOnline.
Bukayo Saka waited a full eight seconds after the referee’s whistle before taking his penalty against Switzerland on Saturday (pictured)
‘It also makes you less predictable for the goalkeeper – because if the goalkeeper always knows that the referee is going to blow his whistle, then it is very easy for the goalkeeper to mobilise all the muscles that he needs on the goal line.’
Normally England rush their kicks – an average of 0.28 seconds after the whistle, his research found – but on Saturday the Three Lions took much longer than usual.
Toney waited seven seconds, Trent Alexander-Arnold waited six and a half seconds and Bukayo Saka waited a whopping eight seconds.
However, there is a danger that the ball takes too long to reach its destination. For example, Marcus Rashford missed his penalty in the final of Euro 2020 after waiting 11 seconds.
Professor Jordet is the author of the book ‘Pressure: Lessons from the psychology of the penalty shoot out’ and has published several studies on the sport
IN THE MIDDLE
There has long been debate about where exactly the penalty taker should aim: above, below, left, right or even in the middle.
Many experts claim that the top left and right corners are ideal goals, as these spots are out of reach for even the tallest goalkeepers.
But Professor Jordet’s research suggests that taking the middle path is an overlooked and effective choice.
“If you put him in the middle you have a slightly higher goal percentage than if you put him on the left or right,” he said.
The reason for this, the academic explains, is that ‘very few goalkeepers dare to just stand still’ – so they are more likely to dive to the left or right.
Players are generally less inclined to shoot through the middle than to dive. But when they do, it is often with the excessive ‘panenka’ technique, which requires courage and skill.
Experts claim that the top left and right corners are ideal goals, as these spots are out of reach for even the tallest goalkeepers.
GET PLAYTIME
As teams approach the 120th minute and the likelihood of penalties increases, many coaches will send players onto the field who are particularly good at taking penalties.
But a big mistake they make is waiting too late to make a substitution, often meaning the newly substituted player hasn’t even touched the ball before he’s in the spotlight for penalties.
In fact, touching the ball during a shootout can be a player’s first and last touch of the game.
Professor Jordet said England manager Gareth Southgate had “learned from the experience” of the Euro 2020 final, when England were beaten by Italy on penalties at Wembley.
Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were then brought on in the 120th minute, but they were absent.
But against Switzerland on Saturday, the final substitutes – Toney and Alexander-Arnold – came on in the 109th and 115th minutes respectively and both scored their goals.
Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford prepare to enter the field in the 120th minute of Euro 2020 at Wembley
YOU ARE IN CONTROL
Many believe that penalty shootouts are all about luck, a lottery to separate two teams of equal quality.
Whether this is true or not, Professor Jordet claims that the ‘feeling of control’ is the key to getting the ball into the net.
“The more players believe that the outcome of penalties is dependent on chance/lottery, the more likely they are to experience destructive anxiety,” he said.
Granted, there are many factors beyond a player’s control that can cause a penalty to be missed or saved.
Players miss more shots when the pressure is high, in other words when it’s later in the shootout and getting the ball out is important, he found.
According to research by Professor Jordet, players miss more shots when the pressure is high (late in the shoot-out)
Interestingly, players also miss more often when they are over 23 years old (younger players score more) and are tired (they have played the full 120 minutes).
Professor Jordet says that the penalty shootout is ultimately ‘a psychological game’ and that a lot of it comes down to practice.
“The players I spoke to for my book – many of whom were very specialised penalty takers, like Robert Lewandowski – practise the kick, the run-up to the kick, the routine,” he said.
‘The perfect penalty is the one that goes into the goal. It can be done in many different ways, depending on what kind of goalkeeper you’re up against.’