Pressure & Better Keepers - Why Penalties Are Being Missed At Euro 2025

The punishment shootout betwixt England and Sweden astatine Euro 2025 will spell down arsenic 1 of nan astir melodramatic successful shot history.

Of nan 14 spot-kicks taken, only 5 were scored, pinch six saved and 3 missed for a conversion complaint of conscionable 35.7%.

A bizarre outlier? Not truthful much. At Euro 2025, penalties person been acold from a guaranteed root of goals, pinch a tourney occurrence complaint of 58.5%.

Spain grounded to people either of their 2 penalties against Switzerland connected Friday, and Germany had 1 saved successful normal clip erstwhile they faced France, earlier different 3 went awry successful a 14-penalty shootout that admittedly lacked nan chaos of England v Sweden.

The occurrence complaint is nan lowest astatine this shape of a women's tourney successful nan past 15 years. In comparison, 84.4% of penalties were scored astatine 2015 World Cup.

Across nan 7 awesome women's tournaments since 2011 and earlier Euro 2025, nan occurrence complaint was 72.99% - somewhat up connected nan 70.56% scored successful men's competitions since 2010.

So why are penalties now truthful overmuch harder to people astatine awesome women's tournaments? BBC Sport dug into nan stats, asked nan players and managers, and quizzed nan experts to effort to find an answer.

There is nary mobility location is greater liking successful women's shot than ever before, peculiarly successful England since they won Euro 2022.

A full of 7.4 cardinal people watched their 2025 quarter-final against nan Swedes connected BBC One, and location has been a maturation successful media liking successful nan past 3 years.

Women's Super League games are now played astatine larger stadiums, and galore of nan Lionesses are family names.

Being put nether a greater spotlight could beryllium a awesome facet successful missed penalties, according to Geir Jordet - professor of shot and psychology astatine nan Norwegian School of Sports Science, and writer of Pressure: Lessons from nan Psychology of nan Penalty Shootout.

"We cognize from investigation that punishment takers are susceptible to pressure," he told BBC Sport. "Most of this investigation has been done connected men, but erstwhile unit goes up, capacity goes down.

"It is absorbing successful nan women's game... nan liking has exploded successful nan past 5 years. I americium funny astir whether that has an effect connected these players.

"Of people location are exceptions, and successful nan WSL a batch of group watch immoderate games. But Premier League players execute for 50,000 each week and to millions astatine home. That is caller to these players.

"I'm not saying female players are worse nether pressure, I americium saying nan unit is comparatively speaking higher now than it utilized to be. You request to acquisition this to find nan ways to header pinch that.

"There is truthful overmuch learning taking place, and I deliberation women's teams are much fresh to sorb this. Football is much blimpish connected nan men's side."

Jordet's mentation seems to person immoderate ground successful reality, pinch England guardant Chloe Kelly saying their expertise to execute nether unit gave them nan edge.

England person now won each 3 shootouts nether Sarina Wiegman - against Sweden, Nigeria astatine nan 2023 World Cup, and Brazil astatine nan Finalissima astatine Wembley.

They person besides reached astatine slightest nan semi-finals of each World Cup and Euros since 2015.

While accrued liking successful women's shot adds to nan pressure, it besides brings accrued finances - allowing for much investigation and coaching.

Players by and ample effort to cleanable a peculiar style of penalty, and activity connected that successful training and games. But acknowledgment to amended scouting and information analysis, opponents tin expect their moves pinch a greater grade of accuracy too.

Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk had a database of England's takers and their punishment style connected her h2o vessel - and saved 4 spot-kicks successful nan shootout.

The 32-year-old and her England counterpart Hannah Hampton some went nan correct measurement for 5 of nan 7 kicks they faced.

Germany's Ann-Katrin Berger followed nan aforesaid method arsenic Falk, pinch TV cameras picking retired her database during other time.

"The takers person been rigorously mapped retired - nan keepers cognize these takers much now than successful nan past," said Jordet.

"If you adhd nan pressure, takers thin to autumn backmost connected a default shape and will sprout successful nan measurement they are astir comfortable doing."

As successful men's football, location is still a schoolhouse of thought that penalties are a lottery and believe tin ne'er make perfect.

Speaking earlier nan lucifer against England, Sweden head Peter Gerhardsson said: "Somewhere it is simply a individual responsibility. The players who want to practise penalties can, but we haven't group up anything.

"It is 1 of nan astir difficult moments successful football. It is truthful difficult to prepare."

That is simply a uncommon - and possibly outdated - approach, though, and not 1 England subscribe to.

Asked really overmuch they had prepared for penalties, skipper Leah Williamson said: "Loads.

"I cognize location were a fewer much misses than normal, but everybody does [that]. It's thing you person to container disconnected earlier a tournament."

As good arsenic being amended prepared, Jordet besides feels female goalkeepers are much tin physically, frankincense allowing them to much easy prevention penalties.

"For a agelong time, goalkeeping has been little developed successful nan women's game," he explained. "There are beingness limitations specified arsenic tallness and it is much difficult to take sides nan extremity than antheral counterparts.

"But now pinch accrued professionalisation, they are uncovering ways to beryllium smarter, to publication their opponents."

For years, critics of women's shot person gleefully posted videos of goalkeepers struggling to extremity tame shots, aliases posted connected societal media and nether online articles really women should play pinch smaller goals aliases pitches.

But whether it was nan 5 saves Hampton made connected Thursday against Sweden, nan 4 penalties stopped by Falk, aliases nan absence of amateur keepers astatine nan Euros, location is little grounds to support that view.

Indeed, erstwhile Falk herself stepped up to return nan 5th punishment against England, Hampton was worried arsenic nan Lionesses had not prepared for really she would return them.

"I deliberation sometimes keepers don't get capable credit," England back-up goalkeeper Khiara Keating told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Obviously there's nan backstage things that you don't spot - nan analysis, nan difficult activity successful training, nan reading, nan assemblage language. The keeper modular is getting measurement better."

Of course, location is immoderate truth successful nan aged adage of penalties being a lottery. Of each things successful nan micromanaged world of modern football, luck remains a cardinal ingredient.

"There whitethorn beryllium nary existent reason, it could beryllium random," admitted Jordet. "Another 25 penalties and it mightiness moreover out."

That was Gerhardsson's superior excuse aft his broadside became nan first squad astatine a women's Euros to suffer a punishment shootout aft their opponents missed 3 of their ain kicks.

"You mightiness return 5 punishment kicks a twelvemonth and you mightiness beryllium 3-0 up," he said. "At nan extremity of nan day, you don't person anyone who would for illustration to return a penalty."

But arsenic women's shot continues to emergence from nan ashes of a 50-year ban, method each complete nan transportation will improve, and styles of penalty-taking much communal successful men's shot will emerge.

This includes what Jordet called nan "keeper-dependent technique", wherever a subordinate steps up to nan ball, looks astatine nan keeper and wherever they move, past rolls it nan different way.

It is commonly seen from players specified arsenic Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, yet very seldom successful women's football.

None of nan 14 takers successful nan Sweden-England necktie waited for nan keeper to move. Spain's Mariona Caldentey demonstrated nan downside of that method, though, during her side's 2-0 last-eight triumph arsenic Switzerland keeper Livia Peng called her bluff, did not move and dived nan correct measurement arsenic nan punishment rolled wide of nan target.

But we should expect to spot much elasticity and a amended punishment method successful women's shot - and it was that adaptability that yet helped England progress.

Lucy Bronze scored their decisive punishment pinch a onslaught measured astatine more than 63mph, though she later revealed to BBC Sport this was not her original plan.

"I wounded my limb a small spot successful nan game, truthful I benignant of changed my mind," said nan Chelsea full-back.

"Also I watched nan goalkeeper successful each azygous punishment and she dived rather early, and statistically successful a shootout it's rather risky for nan keeper to guidelines still and [someone] spell down nan middle.

"So yeah, I emotion maths."