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Published : 30 Jun 2026, 08:45 PM
Germany's shootout defeat by Paraguay on Monday sent shockwaves around the football world as a team previously thought invincible from the spot came up short in a stunning upset, marking the first time they have lost on penalties at a World Cup.
In a nerve-jangling climax, Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah all failed to convert their kicks for Germany after the match had ended 1-1.
There was pressure too for the Paraguayans, who had to bounce back from throwing away a two-goal lead in the shootout before Jose Canale fired home to send his side through to the last 16 - and the Germans home.
For Geir Jordet, professor of football and psychology at the Norwegian School of Sports Science and author of a book called "Pressure: Lessons from the psychology of the penalty shoot-out", penalties are one of the ultimate tests of mental strength and preparation.
"The best penalty takers are specialists, who have worked relentlessly for years to perfect their kicks. This skill always has a technical component - how to hit the ball to get it to where you want it to go," he told Reuters shortly before the Germans were dumped out of the tournament.
As the knockout stage picks up momentum, coaches and players are being asked about practicing penalties and what they are doing to recreate the high-pressure atmosphere, but Jordet believes that question misses the target.
"It is almost impossible to recreate the exact conditions of such a big occasion; the better question in my opinion is rather, to what extent can pressure be recreated and does that have an impact on the outcome?" he said.
"There is a lot of research on so-called pressure training, which shows that training with some anxiety will have an impact on performing with high anxiety."
Pre-Shot Routines
In doing the research for his book, Jordet studied more than 100 shootouts featuring more than 700 penalty kicks, and he puts forward techniques such as visualisation, self-talk, and pre-shot routines that can be useful.
"Players can do different things to take control of the situation, and not allow the opponent to dictate the conditions of the event - by for example, re-starting the routine if the goalkeeper becomes extra volatile or hostile, or make sure to take a little pause with a few breaths after the referee signal has been given," he said.
Ultimately though, penalties are a battle of will and skill between the taker and the goalkeeper.
"Small players don't miss penalties, because only big players take them," Jordet said.
"Those who took responsibility, and missed, deserve our utmost respect, because they actually went into the heat of this moment to deliver, and not many people have done that in such an extreme pressure context that a World Cup is."
