JORDAN PICKFORD’S heroics have seen England finally put to bed their penalty shootout nightmare.
The goalkeeper was again a saviour as Gareth Southgate’s side beat Switzerland 5-3 on spot-kicks to book their spot in the Euros semi-final.
Pickford, with the help of his water bottle cheat sheet that said which direction the Swiss players were likely to shoot in, saved Manuel Akanji’s effort as all five England players found the back of the net.
Before the Everton stopper pulled on the No 1 shirt, the Three Lions had lost seven of their eight shootouts.
But with Pickford between the sticks, England have won three of four.
The only defeat came in the Euro 2020 final to Italy – although he saved Andrea Belotti and Jorginho‘s shots.
Colombia star Carlos Bacca was denied in the 2018 World Cup.
And Swiss duo Josip Drmic in the 2019 Nations League and Akanji on Saturday have also not been able to convert against Pickford.
In total, he has saved five of 20 shootout penalties he has faced.
That is more than double all other England keepers managed between them from 1990 to 2012.
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They saved just two combined from a possible 29, with their save percentage at a woeful 6.5 per cent.
And in major tournaments, Pickford’s record is up at 26.3 per cent.
His pre-penalty antics help get in the minds of his opponent and he was seen pulling faces at Switzerland players in Dusseldorf.
And the mental side of the shootout is something England have been working on.
The improvements in penalties are six years in the making – since a penalty project team was launched by the FA.
The game insights lead Chris Markham reached out to Geir Jordet – a Norwegian sports psychologist who is a leading expert on spot kicks, dubbed ‘The Penalty Professor’.
Markham had read Jordet’s book, Pressure: Lessons from the psychology of the penalty shootout, and wanted to pick his brains.
Among the tips they received was to slow down and control momentum.
Pickford cleverly dragged things out before Akanji’s shot.
Jordet told SunSport: “What Pickford showed particularly leading up to the Akanji penalty was a very smart move.
“This was all part of his plan. He had him wait for 14 seconds.
“This is one of the most consistent findings in my data on goalkeeper involvement.
“If goalkeepers are able to stall or delay so that penalty takers have to stand in that position and wait eight or more seconds then these players score on just 44 per cent of their kicks.”
England penalty takers were also encouraged to develop a routine before their shots to control nerves, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink helping with penalty preparation.
The famous cheat sheet water bottle also helps simplify things for Pickford – but Gary Lineker is worried opponents are now wise to his tricks.
Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, he said: “One player is going to look at that bottle.
“If you are listening do it differently, do it on a different piece of paper or do it on the post.”
THE dreaded penalty shootout.
England’s nemesis at no fewer than EIGHT major tournaments since 1990, from the West Germany heartache at Italia 90 to Wembley woes on the brink of Euro 2020 final glory.
But the perfect shootout win over Switzerland at Euro 2024 gives some reason for optimism…
