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See Also
See Again
© Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
What is a penalty shoot-out?
- A penalty shoot-out is a tie-breaking method to determine which team wins in a match that cannot end in a draw when the score is equal after the normal time and extra time have expired.
© Getty Images
1 / 29 Fotos
What is a penalty shoot-out?
- Each team takes turns to try and score a goal from the penalty mark, with the goal defended only by the opposition's goalkeeper.
© Getty Images
2 / 29 Fotos
The shoot-out
- Each team has five kicks which must be taken by different players. The team that scores the most goals is the victor.
© Getty Images
3 / 29 Fotos
The shoot-out
- A penalty shoot-out starts with two coin tosses to determine the side of the field where the penalties will be taken and which team takes the first kick.
© Getty Images
4 / 29 Fotos
When was the penalty shoot-out established?
- The penalty shoot-out was adopted by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) as a method of settling stalemates in 1970.
© Getty Images
5 / 29 Fotos
The first penalty shoot-out
- Alain Giresse of France took, and scored, the first-ever penalty in a shoot-out in World Cup finals, this in 1982.
© Getty Images
6 / 29 Fotos
The first penalty shoot-out
- Giresse initially turned his back and faced away from the West German goalkeeper, Harald Schumacher, which would mark the beginning of penalty-taking tactics.
© Getty Images
7 / 29 Fotos
1986 FIFA World Cup
- During the penalty shoot-out between France and Brazil in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Brazil's Zico approached his goalkeeper to discuss which way he should dive, laying the foundations for shoot-outs to become a more methodologically driven process.
© Getty Images
8 / 29 Fotos
Methodology
- Ireland's performance in Genoa in 1990 (pictured) was a key moment for mental and physical preparation ahead of a penalty shoot-out, especially compared to England's defeat at the same tournament, which penalty taker Stuart Pearce admitted "very little, if none at all," was done to prepare.
© Getty Images
9 / 29 Fotos
Methodology
- During the Ireland vs, Romania game at Italia 90, penalty-taker Kevin Sheedy told Packie Bonner (Republic of Ireland's goalkeeper) his strategy to hit the ball straight down the middle.
© Getty Images
10 / 29 Fotos
Penalty shoot-out rules
- Penalty shoot-outs are separate to match results. Penalty shoot-out goals don't count towards a player's or the team's tally.
© Getty Images
11 / 29 Fotos
Roberto Baggio
- Roberto Baggio of Italy has been a part of three different World Cup penalty shoot-outs, the most by any player in history.
© Getty Images
12 / 29 Fotos
Before penalties are kicked
- According to professor Ignacio Palacios-Huerta of the London School of Economics, a team can increase their chances of winning a penalty shoot-out if they win the coin toss and choose to kick first.
© Getty Images
13 / 29 Fotos
Before penalties are kicked
- Palacios-Huerta analyzed 1,343 penalty kicks from 129 shoot-outs and found that the team that went first won 60.5% of them.
© Getty Images
14 / 29 Fotos
Increased pressure
- Research shows that if a player takes a penalty during normal time, they score an average of 85% of the time. But during a penalty shoot-out, the conversion rate of penalties taken drops to 76%. This is likely because players know their penalty may decide the game's outcome.
© Getty Images
15 / 29 Fotos
Loss aversion
- If a player steps up to take a penalty that will win the shoot-out, the success rate rises to 92%, whereas if they have to score or else their team will lose, the likelihood of scoring drops to less than 60%.
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
Turning your back on the goalkeeper
- Psychologists have found that players who turn their backs on the goalkeeper as they walk back to the start of the run-up are more likely to miss.
© Getty Images
17 / 29 Fotos
Turning your back on the goalkeeper
- If a player turns their back on a goalkeeper as they walk back to the start of the run-up, they interrupt their preparation, focus on things they can't control, and send subtle cues to the goalkeeper as to where the ball is going to go.
© Getty Images
18 / 29 Fotos
Spending too long looking at the goalkeeper
- In a study of 167 penalties, researchers found that players who were fixated on the goalkeeper were more anxious and missed more penalties.
© Getty Images
19 / 29 Fotos
Don't rush
- Research shows players who take less than 200 milliseconds to respond to the referee blowing the whistle only score around 57% of the time.
© Getty Images
20 / 29 Fotos
Pick a spot and commit to it
- Players are advised to commit to picking a spot, as changing their mind last minute leads to stress and poor technique.
© Getty Images
21 / 29 Fotos
Mental preparation
- As soccer matches progress, sporting abilities are affected by the physical toll of the match. The pressure of a penalty shoot-out combined with fatigue can become too much for some players.
© Getty Images
22 / 29 Fotos
Replicating the late game stage
- Sports scientists believe it's not enough to rely on training sessions for penalty-taking. Instead, coaches need to replicate the late game stage or high-pressure scenario.
© Getty Images
23 / 29 Fotos
Goalkeepers
- Researchers have found that standing still is the optimum strategy for saving penalties. However, goalkeepers can't do this for every penalty, as opponents will quickly realize their plan, so a degree of randomness is needed.
© Getty Images
24 / 29 Fotos
The color of the goalkeeper kit
- According to one study, the color of the goalkeeper kit may impact the likelihood of their opponent scoring. The fewest goals were scored against goalkeepers who wore red (54%) or yellow (69%).
© Getty Images
25 / 29 Fotos
A group effort
- Penalty shoot-outs are often considered an individual test of skill. However, evidence suggests that a player celebrating a goal increases the entire team's chances of winning a shoot-out.
© Getty Images
26 / 29 Fotos
A group effort
- Taking a penalty can be isolating, but support from the team watching at midfield can have a positive effect on the player taking the penalty.
© Getty Images
27 / 29 Fotos
More than just luck
- Penalty shoot-outs are extremely hard to navigate, and there is more to them than luck. It's less about where a player should place the ball and more about trusting their ability and controlling their psychology.
Sources: (FIFA) (Olympics.com) (AnalyiSport)
See also: The making of the soccer fan
© Getty Images
28 / 29 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
What is a penalty shoot-out?
- A penalty shoot-out is a tie-breaking method to determine which team wins in a match that cannot end in a draw when the score is equal after the normal time and extra time have expired.
© Getty Images
1 / 29 Fotos
What is a penalty shoot-out?
- Each team takes turns to try and score a goal from the penalty mark, with the goal defended only by the opposition's goalkeeper.
© Getty Images
2 / 29 Fotos
The shoot-out
- Each team has five kicks which must be taken by different players. The team that scores the most goals is the victor.
© Getty Images
3 / 29 Fotos
The shoot-out
- A penalty shoot-out starts with two coin tosses to determine the side of the field where the penalties will be taken and which team takes the first kick.
© Getty Images
4 / 29 Fotos
When was the penalty shoot-out established?
- The penalty shoot-out was adopted by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) as a method of settling stalemates in 1970.
© Getty Images
5 / 29 Fotos
The first penalty shoot-out
- Alain Giresse of France took, and scored, the first-ever penalty in a shoot-out in World Cup finals, this in 1982.
© Getty Images
6 / 29 Fotos
The first penalty shoot-out
- Giresse initially turned his back and faced away from the West German goalkeeper, Harald Schumacher, which would mark the beginning of penalty-taking tactics.
© Getty Images
7 / 29 Fotos
1986 FIFA World Cup
- During the penalty shoot-out between France and Brazil in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Brazil's Zico approached his goalkeeper to discuss which way he should dive, laying the foundations for shoot-outs to become a more methodologically driven process.
© Getty Images
8 / 29 Fotos
Methodology
- Ireland's performance in Genoa in 1990 (pictured) was a key moment for mental and physical preparation ahead of a penalty shoot-out, especially compared to England's defeat at the same tournament, which penalty taker Stuart Pearce admitted "very little, if none at all," was done to prepare.
© Getty Images
9 / 29 Fotos
Methodology
- During the Ireland vs, Romania game at Italia 90, penalty-taker Kevin Sheedy told Packie Bonner (Republic of Ireland's goalkeeper) his strategy to hit the ball straight down the middle.
© Getty Images
10 / 29 Fotos
Penalty shoot-out rules
- Penalty shoot-outs are separate to match results. Penalty shoot-out goals don't count towards a player's or the team's tally.
© Getty Images
11 / 29 Fotos
Roberto Baggio
- Roberto Baggio of Italy has been a part of three different World Cup penalty shoot-outs, the most by any player in history.
© Getty Images
12 / 29 Fotos
Before penalties are kicked
- According to professor Ignacio Palacios-Huerta of the London School of Economics, a team can increase their chances of winning a penalty shoot-out if they win the coin toss and choose to kick first.
© Getty Images
13 / 29 Fotos
Before penalties are kicked
- Palacios-Huerta analyzed 1,343 penalty kicks from 129 shoot-outs and found that the team that went first won 60.5% of them.
© Getty Images
14 / 29 Fotos
Increased pressure
- Research shows that if a player takes a penalty during normal time, they score an average of 85% of the time. But during a penalty shoot-out, the conversion rate of penalties taken drops to 76%. This is likely because players know their penalty may decide the game's outcome.
© Getty Images
15 / 29 Fotos
Loss aversion
- If a player steps up to take a penalty that will win the shoot-out, the success rate rises to 92%, whereas if they have to score or else their team will lose, the likelihood of scoring drops to less than 60%.
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
Turning your back on the goalkeeper
- Psychologists have found that players who turn their backs on the goalkeeper as they walk back to the start of the run-up are more likely to miss.
© Getty Images
17 / 29 Fotos
Turning your back on the goalkeeper
- If a player turns their back on a goalkeeper as they walk back to the start of the run-up, they interrupt their preparation, focus on things they can't control, and send subtle cues to the goalkeeper as to where the ball is going to go.
© Getty Images
18 / 29 Fotos
Spending too long looking at the goalkeeper
- In a study of 167 penalties, researchers found that players who were fixated on the goalkeeper were more anxious and missed more penalties.
© Getty Images
19 / 29 Fotos
Don't rush
- Research shows players who take less than 200 milliseconds to respond to the referee blowing the whistle only score around 57% of the time.
© Getty Images
20 / 29 Fotos
Pick a spot and commit to it
- Players are advised to commit to picking a spot, as changing their mind last minute leads to stress and poor technique.
© Getty Images
21 / 29 Fotos
Mental preparation
- As soccer matches progress, sporting abilities are affected by the physical toll of the match. The pressure of a penalty shoot-out combined with fatigue can become too much for some players.
© Getty Images
22 / 29 Fotos
Replicating the late game stage
- Sports scientists believe it's not enough to rely on training sessions for penalty-taking. Instead, coaches need to replicate the late game stage or high-pressure scenario.
© Getty Images
23 / 29 Fotos
Goalkeepers
- Researchers have found that standing still is the optimum strategy for saving penalties. However, goalkeepers can't do this for every penalty, as opponents will quickly realize their plan, so a degree of randomness is needed.
© Getty Images
24 / 29 Fotos
The color of the goalkeeper kit
- According to one study, the color of the goalkeeper kit may impact the likelihood of their opponent scoring. The fewest goals were scored against goalkeepers who wore red (54%) or yellow (69%).
© Getty Images
25 / 29 Fotos
A group effort
- Penalty shoot-outs are often considered an individual test of skill. However, evidence suggests that a player celebrating a goal increases the entire team's chances of winning a shoot-out.
© Getty Images
26 / 29 Fotos
A group effort
- Taking a penalty can be isolating, but support from the team watching at midfield can have a positive effect on the player taking the penalty.
© Getty Images
27 / 29 Fotos
More than just luck
- Penalty shoot-outs are extremely hard to navigate, and there is more to them than luck. It's less about where a player should place the ball and more about trusting their ability and controlling their psychology.
Sources: (FIFA) (Olympics.com) (AnalyiSport)
See also: The making of the soccer fan
© Getty Images
28 / 29 Fotos
The history and psychology of the penalty shoot-out
A make-or-break contest of skill, patience, and tactics
© Getty Images
An exciting moment for neutral onlookers yet dreaded by players, coaches, and committed fans, the penalty shoot-out has been an integral feature of knockout tournament soccer since the 1970s. It was then that the penalty shoot-out began to determine the victor of a soccer game, as before that a coin toss decided who won the match. But while it may seem like the outcome of penalties is down to luck, they are both a skill and a mental test.
So, where and exactly when did it all begin? And what strategies do players employ before taking their crucial kick? This gallery answers these questions and more. Click on to discover.
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