of world cup The tournament is in the lose-or-home phase, and the pressure continues to mount with every minute of the match.
The biggest pressure cooker of them all: penalty kick shoot match. A weary player and goalie face off in a tense one-on-one showdown, carrying the hopes and dreams of an entire nation on their shoulders.
Two of the first four games in the Round of 32 were decided on penalties. Morocco defeats the Netherlands and Paraguay defeats Germany.
A mistake can mean humiliation. A goalkeeper’s save or the last bulge of the ball into the back of the net can bring tears of joy to millions of people.
This kind of pressure can reach “inhuman” levels and is almost entirely concentrated on the penalty taker, said Geir Jorde, a professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and author of the book “Pressure: Lessons from the Psychology of Penalty Shootouts.”
“In our research, the only emotion that everyone agrees exists is anxiety,” Jorde says.
Expect more gunfights, more pressure, more anxiety.
A record five matches at the 2022 Qatar World Cup were decided on penalties, including the final. Argentina defeats France.
“The more you play knockout football, the more it becomes in the game,” said England winger Noni Maduke. “So, like every part of our game, we want to be at the highest level when it comes to that.”
Physical and mental distance from spot to goal
This tense battle of wills takes place 12 yards (11 meters) between the penalty spot and the goal line. Gunfights were added to the game in 1970 and have been settled in some of the world’s biggest tournaments.
The first World Cup final decided by penalty kicks was the 1994 victory between Brazil and Italy. The shootout also saw one of the most infamous mistakes in soccer history, when Italian great Roberto Baggio sent his final kick over the crossbar.
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penalty taker
Techniques vary.
Some people kick right away. Some people stop and take deep calming breaths before approaching. Some people run and hit hard. A popular variation is the stutter step, where the goalie waits in which direction to go.
Jorde told The Associated Press in an email that penalty takers face the most pressure right now because they are expected to score.
Studies have shown that players who start facing the ball immediately after the referee’s whistle make more mistakes than those who wait two to five seconds.
“We think this is because people who have extremely short (wait times) may naturally do so because they just want this stressful situation to end,” Jorde said.
It takes courage to meet that moment, said U.S. forward Christian Pulisic.
“For those who go up and shoot, it takes a lot of courage. It’s not easy,” Pulisic said. “Goalies keep getting better and better every year.”
view from the goal
There are three basic options for the goalie standing between the posts. Dive to the left, dive to the right, or stay in the center in a guessing game.
Moroccan keeper Yassin Bounou did something decidedly different. In the decisive save against the Netherlands, he stood up and moved to his right.
Bounowu stayed upright and easily deflected Crisencio Somerville’s kick towards the top of the corner with his left hand. If Bounow had jumped in, the ball would have easily hit the net.
Jorde said the best goalies are “creative, deliberate and erratic” in trying to thwart shooters.
Tactics may include throwing the ball away, verbal insults, and physical confrontations at the penalty spot. Mind games can become very hostile and can result in the goalkeeper being given a yellow card.
He noted that Bounow made well-timed body twitches and hand fakes to disrupt the shooter’s timing. Jorde said the “master” of mind games is Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who has won the last six penalty shootouts, including the 2022 World Cup final.
There is also pressure when choosing the lineup.
Choosing a lineup for a shootout has its own rhythms and risks for coaches and teams. A delicate balance between analysis, experience, and intuition is important.
Some players are automatically selected. Imagine France having an unmanned gunfight. Kylian Mbappe or without argentina lionel messi With the World Cup just around the corner.
“The players who have the most confidence to go up and shoot are going to want to go up and shoot. I think that’s normal,” Pulisic said. “We haven’t had a lot of shootouts with them, but the way I feel, this team is a pretty brave, courageous team.”
Jorde said shootout members should be decided in advance and discussed thoroughly, and volunteers should not be recruited on the spot.
After Germany and Paraguay remained even after five penalty tries each, Germany captain Joshua Kimmich asked a teammate Who wanted to take the 6th place. Jonathan Tarr stood up for his first career penalty try and smashed the ball over the bar.
Jorde said players need to rehearse key moments months in advance.
“When you are instructed to take a kick, make sure you have a strong, solid penalty technique and a stable pre-shot routine that you have rehearsed to help you focus your attention,” Jorde said. “With that kind of focus, you’ve done what you can and the results will be.”
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AP Sports Writers Josh Dubow, Steve Douglas and James Robson contributed to this report.
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
