Fascinating to see how good goalkeepers are on penalties now.

Dean Henderson has been one of the best for a while (only 62% penalty goals against).

He obviously has mapped opponent penalty takers - but not just WHERE they shoot.

Also the TECHNIQUE they use.
I'll explain here: When pen takers use a goalkeeper-independent technique, where they have decided beforehand where to shoot & just rigidly stick to that corner, Henderson commits extremely EARLY to that side (because the taker doesn't look up).

He often saves in this way, as w Mac Allister today.

A subtle England penalty shootout innovation (since 2021) is their deliberate, structured & functional use of social psychology.

Here, Saka is picked up by John Stones after his penalty, to swiftly welcome him back in the team.

What did England do and why did they do it?
1/7 Against the Swiss, each English penalty taker had a buddy assigned, who would leave the mid circle and greet the penalty taker back into the group after each kick.

This is consistent with a new trend that teams now not only assign penalty takers, but also assign protectors.
2/7

The last minutes before penalty shootouts can teach us about managing under pressure.

France's Deschamps doesn't buy into penalty training. This can be spotted.

In the World Cup final, he seemed clueless about who would shoot. Tchouaméni was picked after intensely scanning.
1/8 Argentina's manager Scaloni has a different view: "We always practice penalties."

Ahead of the penalty shootout vs the Netherlands, Scaloni took less than 15 sec to pick 5 penalty takers (Messi was a given).

The swift process communicates confidence and that he has a plan.
2/8

A penalty shootout is a psychological battle. In the 2023 Women’s World Cup, players on Sweden & USA tried to cope with stress in very different ways.

We cannot see inside their heads, but we can observe micro behaviors & try to infer what they mean.

Here are my best guesses. The two goalkeepers handed the ball to their penalty takers ahead of each penalty kick. This is a, by now, well-known strategy to give each penalty taker a friendly start to their pre-shot routine.

However, the two teams substantially differed in HOW this hand-off took place.

Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty kick against Manchester United s a pure test of performance under pressure.

Penalty at 0-0.
8 minutes into overtime.

One way to maintain calm here is to proactively take control over yourself & the situation.

How did Mac Allister do this?
1/5 First, Mac Allister grabbed the ball early, then moved away from the commotion and chaos around the referee and the penalty spot.

This is likely helpful to keep a clear focus on the task - the imminent shot, and avoid opponents' attempts to disturb and distract.
2/5

Was this the moment that decided the United v Brighton FA Cup Semifinal?

Wout Weghorst scored his kick, then got the ball and handed it over to Brighton’s Solly March with his own “kiss of death”.

March proceeded to deliver the only miss in the shootout.

Here the details:
1/6 Up until this point, Brighton goalkeeper Sanchez had given the ball to the Brighton players.

This is a routine many teams have employed since England successfully did it at the 2018 World Cup.

The do it to give the penalty taker a “friendly” beginning to their kick routine.
2/6

Lionel Messi has an extraordinary ability to perceive & act appropriately upon critical information on the pitch.

Here is a breakdown of his perceptual, cognitive & emotional performance in key moments of the 2022 World Cup final - starting with his 3-2 goal.
Thread 1/12 For this goal in the 109th minute, Messi scans extensively towards areas off the ball prior to receiving the ball.

In the last 10 seconds before scoring, he has 7 scans (0.7 scans/sec). Initially, his scans are long, allowing him to gather more information from each scan.
2/12

Kylian Mbappé performed EXTRAORDINARY under pressure in the 2022 World Cup final.

At only 23, he scored 4 goals, including 3 penalties, in which the one in the 118' min would secure a loss for France if he were to miss.

What did he do prior to these pressure kicks?
Thread 1/ Background: Mbappé is one of the world’s best & most expensive players. Our study suggests status adds pressure & reduces penalty performance tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Being a Black player comes w additional risks of racist fallout if he were to miss, adding even more pressure. 2/

Argentina is world champion after a penalty shootout master class. At the core of their performance is goalkeeper Emi Martinez' mind games.

Martinez dominated the French penalty takers, forcing two misses.

Here’s a step-by-step description of his tricks in the final. Thread. 1/ Martinez set the stage and took ownership of the penalty area from the beginning.

While Lloris completed the coin toss, Martinez quickly walked to the penalty area, waiting for Lloris to come, like he was welcoming a visitor to his own home: “You’re in my house now!” 2/

Normally, Harry Kane is a fantastic penalty taker, but under extraordinary pressure also he will occasionally miss.

A penalty kick is not exclusively an individual task. Teammates can help, assist & support.

How were the England players supporting Kane in the France match? 1/ One of England's players is world leading in supporting teammate penalty takers. Jordan Henderson has successfully protected Liverpool’s penalty takers for years, making sure opponents don’t get access to play mind games in those last crucial seconds leading up to the kick. 2/

Penalty shootouts can be intense, confrontational & volatile. The clash between Argentina and the Netherlands was epic in this sense, culminating with Argentina winning and tauntingly celebrating in front of the Dutch. What events in the shootout led up to this moment? Thread 1/ What ultimately set things on fire in the penalty shootout was the fight around the mid circle prior to Argentina’s last kick. As Lautaro Martinez started walking from the mid circle, he was accompanied and harassed by several Dutch players, Dumpfries seemingly most active. 2/

The penalty shootout between Spain & Morocco was fascinating. Morocco protected Africa’s honor, w/ immense interest at home. Spain was a big favorite, but failed last (2021 Euros) and missed ALL 3 shots now. Why? Here some observations on penalties, psychology and leadership. 1/ Morocco were underdogs also on penalty experience. Sabiri & Benoun only had 8 & 9 prior penalties (7 goals/88% & 8 goals/89%, respectively) and Hakimi had 0 prior penalties. Ziyech had more, 22 shots, but only 16 goals (73%).

Despite this, Simon went wrong on 3 of 4 shots. 2/

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Background & description: 1/5 Get a deeper understanding of psychology in football & ways to apply it with impact.

Cognitive, emotional & social aspects of the game: Visual awareness, performance under pressure, coping w setbacks, learning/development, communication, culture, coaching & leadership. 2/5

Does scanning impact performance in elite football players?

For answers, we teamed up w Arsenal in the 2017-2018 season, filmed every single home game & analyzed 27 players/10,000 ball possessions.

Here's Arsene Wenger's take on the topic and the study.

What did we find?
1/5 There IS a link to performance.

When we control for pass difficulty, context and individual differences: the more a player scans, the greater the probability of completing a pass.

Also, more scanning - more forward-oriented passes (in part because of context, see next).
2/5

Erling Braut Haaland does not only have an enormous physique & great finishing, he has an extraordinary vision and ability to scan.

So often when those around him all look at the ball, Haaland looks away from it, to prepare what happens next.

Here's how he does it.

Thread 1/6 Haaland constantly looks away from the ball (scans) prior to receiving the ball, with a higher frequency than other top forwards.

Forwards in our 2017-2018 Premier League study did 0.28 scans per second. We have measured Haaland a few times: he is at 0.35-0.50 scans per sec. 2/6

Liverpool maintains their TEAM approach to penalty kicks from last season, where they insulate & protect their penalty taker from potential opponent mind games.

Salah can then freely focus on his shot.

What did they do in the Community Shield, and where did it come from? 1/5 In the Community Shield, when City players start approaching the penalty taker (1), Thiago & Elliot immediately come running to shield them away from Salah (2). Thiago takes care of Ederson, while Elliot has Salah's back (3). Finally, Thiago escorts the City players away (4). 2/5

A penalty shootout is a psychological game. Andrew Redmayne gave a mind game master class as Australia beat Peru on penalties to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. What did he do and why did it work? Thread 1/9 Most obvious, his dance moves on the goal line were elaborate, spectacular and seemingly effective. Research shows goalkeeper distraction behaviors are linked with 10% less goals for the penalty taker (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27292083/). The key is to be erratic & unpredictable. 2/9

The 2021-2022 Champions League final could be decided from the penalty mark, either in the game or in a penalty shootout.

How do the finalists Real Madrid and Liverpool measure up against each other in the psychological game of penalties?

Here are some observations. Thread 1/ Benzema and Salah are the primary penalty takers. Benzema often looks up from the ball (to see where the goalkeeper moves), then shoots opposite. Other times he just goes for one of the sides, with power. Salah decides where to shoot in advance, looks down at the ball & fires. 2/

Managing a team into a penalty shootout is about assuming control, taking initiative & making the other team react to you. NOT about taking up positions or engaging in behaviors just because someone says so. Rangers didn't get it right in the Europa League final vs Frankfurt. 1/7 For their pre-shootout gathering, Rangers set up traditionally on the sideline, while Frankfurt took to the field. Frankfurt’s choice may be coincidence or a deliberate act of territorial dominance. Next perhaps in the mid circle itself, to claim the critical area right away? 2/7

Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties in the FA Cup final. A penalty shootout is a psychological game starting with how the manager communicates with his players after the final whistle. Klopp & Tuchel spent those 5 minutes very differently. Here are the events chronologically. 1/9 At around 60 seconds after the final whistle, Klopp already has made his selection and approaches each penalty taker to tell/ask him what shot to take. He does this one-on-one and often cements his ask with his trademark HUG. The asking process is intimate, safe, and loving. 2/9

Kevin De Bruyne has an extraordinary awareness and ability to deliver decisive goals & assists.

What can we learn about his vision from studying his scanning?

We had a camera focused on him in the 1st leg vs Atlético Madrid. Here is what we found.

Thread. 1/10
@PickxSports De Bruyne scans the pitch prior to receiving the ball with a rate of 0.45 scans/second, thus 4-5 scans every 10 seconds. This is high for a player in his role.

He constantly exposes his eyes to surrounding information and becomes aware of opportunities & threats early.
2/10