A FOOTBALL psychology expert claims to have discovered why Harry Kane buried his first penalty against France – but skied the second one over.
Professor Geir Jordet from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences has offered his unique insight as to why Kane missed his second spot kick.
And it has all to do with the “support” Kane got from his team-mates ahead of both spot kicks.
Posting his hypothesis in a fascinating thread on Twitter, Jordet explained the protection the record Three Lions scorer received from Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson was pivotal in the outcome of the penalties.
He explained: “One of England’s players is world-leading in supporting team-mate penalty takers.
“Jordan Henderson has successfully protected Liverpool’s penalty takers for years, making sure opponents don’t get access to play mind games in those last crucial seconds leading up to the kick.
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“For Kane’s first penalty vs France, Henderson did what he does best. First, he called for and grabbed the ball early.
“Then handed it over to Kane while essentially escorting him to the penalty area, making sure no French players could get access to Kane for a ‘last word’.
“For the 2nd penalty, Henderson had literally just been substituted off and could not assume his normal supportive role.
“For the first 30 sec after the VAR decision, Harry Kane was alone, with only France players around. Not necessarily a problem, but it leaves him vulnerable.
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“Kane’s team-mates saw this & stepped up. First Mason Mount, then Jude Bellingham (after Stones pointed out a need). Bellingham ended up escorting Giroud out of the penalty area.
“All good, but was this too reactive & too late? And did it even add noise rather than take it away?
“Kane missed the penalty & England’s hope vanished. Interesting that the first players to emerge around Harry Kane after the miss were all French.
“Almost the entire French team swarmed around Lloris (and Kane) in joy and excitement, with not a single England player in sight.”
He went on to praise 19-year-old Bellingham, who was the first to console Kane after his miss.
After the game, Henderson stayed alongside Kane, with Jordet concluding: “Being a team-mate is about being there for the ones who need you the most.”
Jordet has previously spoken to SunSport regarding penalty psychology.
Following Chelsea’s club World Cup victory over Palmeiras – which saw Kai Havertz score a late penalty – he said Cesar Azpilicueta acting as a human shield was important in allowing Havertz to convert his spot kick.
He said: “With VAR, the psychology of penalty kicks has become incredibly important.
“The best teams in 2022 are the ones who play the psychological game better than others.”
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James Maddison and Emiliano Martinez have previously been great examples when it comes to psyching out their opponents before penalty kicks.
Martinez in particular seems to have this down to a tee, and has produced some massive penalty saves in recent years including a pair of saves for Argentina in their shootout victory over the Netherlands at the World Cup.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
