By Roberto Forzoni, performance psychologist. Worked with Andy Murray, Premier League clubs and Olympians, and author of the FA's guide to psychology in football.
A penalty feels like a lottery when you're standing on the line. It isn't. The taker is under far more pressure than you are, and what you do in the 30 seconds before the kick can change how well they strike it.
The pressure is on them, not you
Nobody expects a keeper to save a penalty. Everybody expects the taker to score. That difference matters. Research on penalty shootouts at major tournaments found that players under the most pressure tended to rush. They turned their backs on the goalkeeper and started their run-up faster, and the quickest starters missed more often [1][2]. Rushing is a way of escaping an uncomfortable moment, and it costs accuracy.
Your job is not to make the moment comfortable for them.
Stop guessing early
An analysis of 286 penalties found that keepers dived left or right more than 90% of the time, even though staying central would, on those numbers, have saved more [3]. The researchers' explanation was "action bias": conceding after diving feels better than conceding while standing still, because at least you did something.
That doesn't mean "never dive". It means don't let a feeling decide for you. Pick your plan before the taker places the ball, and commit to it as late as your reactions allow.
What the best keepers watch. When researchers tracked where goalkeepers looked during penalties, experts spent more time on the taker's kicking leg, standing leg and the ball, and less on the head and upper body. They also waited longer before moving and made fewer wrong-way dives [4].
Small things you control on the line
Movement draws the eye. In a lab study, a keeper moving on the line (arm movements within the rules) pulled the taker's gaze towards him and made shots less accurate [5].
Your position matters more than you think. When keepers stood very slightly off-centre, by just a few centimetres, takers aimed more often to the bigger side without realising the keeper had moved [6]. Used deliberately, that's a way to invite the shot where you want it.
Stay within the Laws: until the ball is kicked you must be on the goal line, between the posts, facing the taker, not touching the posts, crossbar or net, and with at least part of one foot touching or in line with the line.
The five-step penalty routine
-
Prepare
Before the game (or the shootout), know what you can: a taker's favourite side, run-up habits, or simply your own plan. Then let it go. Notes are a starting point, not a script. -
Own the space
Take your time getting to the line. Stand tall, arms out, still. You're not delaying, you're getting set. Look at the ball, not the taker's eyes. -
Breathe out
One long out-breath as the taker walks back. It drops tension in your shoulders and keeps your first step quick. -
Read the cues
Watch the standing foot and the hips as they arrive at the ball. Stay on your toes and move as late as you can. -
Reset, either way
Save or goal, same thing afterwards: breathe out, say your reset word, back to your position. In a shootout, the next kick is a brand-new event.
Practise it, don't just read it
Run the full routine every time you face a penalty in training, including the walk to the line and the reset afterwards. A routine only holds up under pressure if it's automatic.
Want this as a guided routine?
MYND includes guided pre-performance and reset routines built for match day. Try MYND
References
- Jordet, G. & Hartman, E. (2008). Avoidance motivation and choking under pressure in soccer penalty shootouts. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 30, 450–457.
- Jordet, G. (2009). Why do English players fail in soccer penalty shootouts? A study of team status, self-regulation, and choking under pressure. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27, 97–106.
- Bar-Eli, M., Azar, O. H., Ritov, I., Keidar-Levin, Y. & Schein, G. (2007). Action bias among elite soccer goalkeepers: The case of penalty kicks. Journal of Economic Psychology, 28, 606–621.
- Savelsbergh, G. J. P., Williams, A. M., van der Kamp, J. & Ward, P. (2002). Visual search, anticipation and expertise in soccer goalkeepers. Journal of Sports Sciences, 20, 279–287.
- Wood, G. & Wilson, M. R. (2010). A moving goalkeeper distracts penalty takers and impairs shooting accuracy. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28, 937–946.
- Masters, R. S. W., van der Kamp, J. & Jackson, R. C. (2007). Imperceptibly off-center goalkeepers influence penalty-kick direction in soccer. Psychological Science, 18, 222–223.