England were widely praised after a perfect penalty-shootout performance against Switzerland in their Euro 2024 quarter-final. Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold all converted from the spot.
There appeared to be none of the nerves or lack of conviction that had plagued England at previous tournaments. Each player stepped up confidently and made no mistake.
Gareth Southgate’s sides have clearly made practising penalties a priority, but there is more to it than simply picking a spot. But what exactly have they changed?
How England's New System (Somehow) Beat Switzerland
As revealed by Norwegian psychology professor Geir Jordet on X, England had several things in place to keep morale high during the shootout. Most notably, each penalty taker was assigned a “buddy”, who greeted them back into the group after their spot-kick.
Saka was greeted by John Stones, Palmer by Kyle Walker, Bellingham by Luke Shaw, and so on. In the event of a missed penalty, which didn’t happen against Switzerland of course, the assigned player would help console their teammate and lessen any damage to morale.
Jordet explains this means players do not have a long, lonely walk back to the centre circle.
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 pic.twitter.com/yuzNoXUJRqJuly 8, 2024
Jordet also pointed out that England’s players don’t interlock arms during a shootout. This is described as “refreshing” and “more important than appearing to be supportive”.
These minor details perhaps help take the pressure off. Jordan Pickford played his part, too, and not just with his save to deny Manuel Akanji. The goalkeeper, after handing each England taker the ball, walked into the box alongside his teammate.
How significant are these details? Possibly only slightly, but marginal gains are vitally important in the latter stages of international tournaments in tight games where penalties could be the difference.
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