Revealed: How to take the perfect penalty... according to the expert who has studied EVERY shootout spot kick at the Euros and World Cup

Soak 'em successful iodine, my Uncle Mally would joke whenever he caught maine chewing my nails to nan knuckles. Nasty stuff. Foul taste. That'll soon extremity you, son. With England now facing nan anticipation of penalties, perhaps moreover connected Sunday, it is free proposal for america all.

Chances are nan eventual champions of Euro 2024 will need to debar choking from 12 yards out astatine immoderate stage, for illustration Italy astatine nan 2020 edition, Portugal successful 2016, Spain successful 2012. For supporters, it is stressful. For Professor Geir Jordet, it is an opportunity to adhd yet much lawsuit studies to his postulation stretching backmost to 1970.

The 50-year-old, from Oslo, Norway, has studied each spot-kick taken successful shootouts astatine World Cups, European Championships and successful nan Champions League since then. As nan Godfather of this excruciating constituent of nan game, he shared his life's activity successful a book called Pressure, pinch a foreword written by Arsene Wenger and a quote from Edwin van der Sar connected nan screen declaring: 'If I had known half of what's successful this book, my trophy furniture would beryllium overmuch bigger.'

Shootouts are wherever superstars tin melt into specified mortals, for illustration David Beckham astatine Euro 2004. Jordet tells Mail Sport an amusing communicative of really he had completed his PhD successful psychology and shot anterior to that summertime and was asked to analyse Beckham's impermanent modulation from bonzer to mean successful Lisbon by a nationalist power position successful Norway.

That included really Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo succeeded successful disrupting England's mentality monster by approaching 'Becks' astatine nan punishment spot to kickstart his trash-talking, a existent powerfulness play. Suddenly, Jordet was interrupted by personification dialling successful to nan studio.

It was Henning Berg, nan precocious retired Norwegian coming successful pinch a two-footed situation for suggesting his erstwhile Manchester United team-mate had crumbled nether pressure.

Jordet stands by his return today, saying: 'Being a superstar evidently comes pinch much expectations. If there's 1 subordinate who astatine slightest will score, it's David Beckham'. That is much pressure.

'I published a study successful 2009 entitled When Superstars Flop and nan information astatine that constituent was very clear — that nan biggest superstars miss much shots than, shall we say, regular players.'

Practice is important but Jordet explains really location is overmuch much to scoring a punishment than making judge you tin onslaught nan postage stamp of nan goal. Most of it goes unnoticed.

Whether nan taker turns distant to debar nan regard of nan goalkeeper erstwhile stepping backmost from nan shot (57 per cent of England's players person done this, acold exceeding each different federation including Germany connected 30 per cent). Whether location is other unit connected nan peculiar taker (we English person precocious expectations and yet transportation a fearfulness of nonaccomplishment heightened by history).

Whether nan subordinate sewage a consciousness for nan game, aliases so nan tournament, earlier being asked to return nan astir pressurised footwear location is (Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho featured minimally astatine Euro 2020 earlier being brought connected successful nan 120th infinitesimal of nan final, some missing).

Whether they return their clip successful positioning nan shot connected nan spot (studies person shown nan much meticulous nan better), whether they return a heavy activity beforehand (like Cristiano Ronaldo erstwhile he eliminated England astatine nan 2006 World Cup) and whether they hold for nan goalkeeper to make nan first move (Ivan Toney does, Harry Kane does not).

Jordet apologises aft being told his book intends I will ne'er watch different shootout successful nan aforesaid measurement again. 'Welcome to my world,' he says pinch a laughter earlier bringing up a fascinating uncovering of his which you dream Gareth Southgate will beware up of nan knockout stages successful Germany.

It is how, according to his records, England's players person taken an mean of 0.28 seconds to respond to nan referee's whistle — importantly quicker than everyone other progressive successful nan study and much than doubly arsenic accelerated arsenic those punishment perfectionists Germany.

Jordet tells america by comparison, erstwhile Usain Bolt ran nan 100 metres successful 9.58 seconds successful Berlin successful 2009, his guidance to nan starting weapon was 0.15. The proposal is nan English are excessively keen to get their footwear retired of nan way, arsenic Southgate erstwhile admitted of his gutting miss against Germany astatine Euro 1996: 'All I wanted was nan ball: put it connected nan spot, get it complete and done with.'

Jordet says 1 of his studies shows really nan hares who charged for nan shot scored less goals (less than 60 per cent) than nan tortoises who paused beforehand (more than 80 per cent).

'It's a normal quality guidance that erstwhile you are stressed, you want to get it complete with,' Jordet adds. 'This awesome comes and it's like, 'Oh, I person a chance to extremity my misery now'. Then they spell for it.'

That is not to opportunity waiting aft nan whistle is foolproof. Rashford took 11 seconds to commencement moving aft nan referee's awesome successful nan Euro 2020 last — nary subordinate successful World Cup, European Championship aliases Champions League history has stood still for longer, Jordet says — and he missed.

Rashford later revealed that nan logic for his hold was that 'something didn't consciousness rather right'. Jordet suspects he fell into nan trap of overthinking.

Yet nan post-whistle region is much adjuvant than harmful. In 2018 against Colombia, erstwhile England won a World Cup punishment shootout for nan first time, they were helped by a spot-kick master successful Chris Markham.

Hired arsenic a lead expert successful January 2017, nan first mobility asked of him by nan FA was: 'How do we triumph a punishment shootout astatine a awesome tournament?'

Having publication his research, Markham picked nan brains of Jordet, who says: 'I tin safely say, nary different squad successful shot has ever prepared arsenic thoroughly and diligently for penalties arsenic England did earlier nan 2018 World Cup.'

They held punishment workshops. They met pinch referees to spot what they could and could not get distant with, including whether it was prohibited to execute nan squad huddle successful nan area by their supporters.

They said to Team GB Hockey to study really champion to invited backmost a team-mate who missed successful nan aforesaid measurement arsenic 1 who scored.

They tailored punishment believe for those arsenic knowledgeable arsenic Kane arsenic those arsenic inexperienced arsenic Kieran Trippier.

They simulated a afloat shootout — complete pinch a refereeing team, huddle, walk, centre circle, goalkeeper distractions — to make this dress rehearsal for Russia arsenic realistic arsenic possible.

Markham watched that conquering of Colombia from nan barroom wrong St George's Park and Southgate messaged him soon aft afloat clip to convey him for his work, without which England mightiness ne'er person tamed our aged nemesis successful Moscow.

However, Markham near nan FA successful February 2021 and later that year, England took a backwards step, losing connected penalties successful nan Euros last that summertime which led to observations by Jordet.

He originates by explaining really punishment shootouts do not commencement from erstwhile a subordinate steps up to return 1 but from nan break instantly beforehand, citing really agelong it took Didier Deschamps to get nan French location successful bid aft other clip successful nan 2022 World Cup last earlier facing nan Argentine antagoniser Emiliano Martinez.

Of nan 5 punishment shootouts staged successful Qatar, nan losing sides were ever nan ones who took longer than their opponents to complete their tactical and logistical instructions.

It is amended to person a scheme successful spot as, moreover psychologically, it provides nan players a consciousness of power earlier stepping into that unit cooker.

'Now, of each nan teams and coaches I've ever observed for illustration this, nan coach who took nan longest clip was Southgate successful nan Euro 2020 final,' Jordet reveals. 'He was acold supra nan squad who took nan longest clip successful nan Qatar World Cup, which was Japan astatine 170 seconds. England were 40 seconds supra that.'

The suspicion is Southgate began to overthink nan bid of his tail enders, which near nan first 5 takers anxiously twiddling thumbs.

England are staying shtum connected nan grade of their preparations for Euro 2024.

Marc Guehi was asked nan mobility successful his media briefing connected Thursday, only for a property serviceman to interject by saying they did not want to springiness distant immoderate 'competitive advantage'.

What we do cognize is England are blessed pinch imaginable takers. There is Kane, who uses what Jordet describes arsenic nan 'goalkeeper-independent technique' whereby he decides wherever and really he intends to people earlier doing so. Jude Bellingham, who has proven he tin grip nan unit of representing Real Madrid. Bukayo Saka, hopefully stronger for his acquisition astatine Euro 2020 erstwhile his decisive footwear was saved.

Yet arsenic pinch Rashford and Sancho astatine Wembley, Jordet insists it would beryllium incorrect to prevention players purely for penalties.

'Everybody talks astir nan starting XI,' he says. 'But nan large mobility is: who do you extremity with? If you're going to put Ivan Toney into a shootout successful nan semi final, past he should get to play a little.' That did not hap successful nan group stages, pinch Toney receiving zero minutes and Cole Palmer — nicknamed 'Cold Palmer' for his coolness, including scoring 9 penalties retired of 9 for Chelsea past play — only getting 19.

We decorativeness by discussing 'the L word'. That is 'lottery', an look that plagues shot parlance and has been utilized by erstwhile England managers. Jordet considers that a cop-out, saying: 'It becomes thing you hide behind. It gives you an excuse to not prepare, not plan, not train.'

We tin only hope Southgate's England person prepared, planned, and trained arsenic thoroughly arsenic 2018 up of facing Slovakia tomorrow. Anyway, iodine anyone?

Pressure: Lessons from nan psychology of nan punishment shootout by Geir Jordet is published by New River Books