Psychology of Penalties

 by Jamie H

Can England ever win on penalties? The dominant question that lingers when any major tournament and a penalty shootout is around. 1990 West Germany, 1996 Argentina, 2006 Portugal and 2021 Italy. The curse. Are we cursed? Or is there a mentality we are missing. There has been extensive research into the psychology of penalties and what the best options available are for a team, so they have the opportunity to perform to optimum ability in a penalty shootout.  It may look simple; kick the ball into the net and prevent the opposing team kicking the ball into the net- but nothing in sport is ever that simple.

The penalty kick comes under what is known as the non-cooperative zero-sum game and is a form of game theory. The theory states that one person's gain is equivalent to another’s loss, meaning that the net change is zero sum. So how does this apply to penalty kicks? Due to the fact that the kicker and the goalkeeper do not co-operate with each other, but each player pursues disparate objectives. Meaning that the kickers gain represents the goalkeeper's loss and vice versa. Furthermore, assumptions are made that the best penalty kicks are made from optimal strategy and John Nash, a mathematician, states that penalties have Nash equilibrium. This refers to the scoring probability for a kicker and probability of making a save for a goalkeeper.  Although even with all the maths and the science behind a penalty, a main focus for many players is not about the scientific knowledge, but rather about the mentality. We can see this through the automatic tendency to take action even when the better choice may be holding off on doing anything at all, this is known as the action bias. For instance, it is common for a goalkeeper to act (jump to right of jump to left) and optimise their chances of catching the ball. Many have found that just doing something helps and perceive that they are going to stop or save the penalty. Although, cognitive bias does not work in isolation therefore even though in football, you want it to be a perfect mathematical decision, in a stressful, overwhelming environment, the perception of control is more key for a player. This refers to an individual perceived control in the degree to which they believed that they have control over themselves and activities, surrounding them. Showing us that when the player is forced to perform in a way that is mathematically optimal, we take away their agency. Landing in a form of paradox, as it increases levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety. In addition, the degree of self control affects the participant’s performance particularly when placed in a high-pressure situation.  Therefore, players don’t need to be in control to perform successfully, they just need to believe they are.

For that reason, can we ever successfully know how to take the best penalties. No. The best strategy depends on what the others do, so there is no predicting. And even with all the scientific knowledge and practice of a penalty, in this sport, anything could happen.  The biggest obstacle to face is the anxiety and pressure faced in this intense, all eyes are watching, set of circumstances. For instance, when Alex Morgan had a penalty kick denied in July 2023 it was the first time a kick was blocked for the U.S women’s national soccer team since 2003. To counterbalance, this anxiety and pressure many kickers turn to breathing exercises such as the ‘sigh breath’. On top of that many teams will use psychology to help perform successfully, rather than focusing on the individual. For example, in 2023 round 16 Sardinia Weismann stated that her coach employed specific tactics to ensure victory against Nigeria. These included two details such as England players linked arms, forming a line near the centre circle before the spot-kicks began and when they scored or Nigeria missed, every player celebrated passionately. Showing that this is mental battle between teams and the individual. Nothing will ever fully prepare you for the penalty shot. But the right frame of mind is always the best to start.