Why Jordan Pickford must DITCH his water bottle cheat sheet in England penalty shootouts as Lineker recommends new hack
GARY LINEKER has insisted that Jordan Pickford must DITCH his water bottle cheat sheet for the remainder of Euro 2024.
The England goalkeeper saved Manuel Akanji‘s spot-kick during the shootout win over Switzerland in the quarter-final.
The Three Lions netted five penalties from five during the shootout as they sealed their spot in the semi-finals.
After the victory it was spotted that Pickford had a cheat sheet on his bottle.
The sheet had a list of all the Swiss players and where they were most likely to shoot.
Akanji’s name had “dive left” next to it, which led to Pickford’s heroic save.
Lineker has now suggested that the Everton goalkeeper must change up his tactic.
The retired footballer believes that future opponents may try to sneak a look at the sheet so they can change their penalty tactics.
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.”
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Pickford was hailed by fans after his heroics as they saw his attempts to put off Akanji.
The goalkeeper could be seen staring dowing the Manchester City star with his eyes and mouth wide open.
England’s penalty shootout record
THE dreaded penalty shootout.
England’s nemesis at no fewer than SEVEN major tournaments since 1990, from the West Germany heartache at Italia 90 to Wembley woes on the brink of Euro 2020 final glory.
But two shootout victories before the Italy defeat give some reason for optimism…
- 1990 World Cup semi-final vs WEST GERMANY, 04/07/1990 – LOST 4-3
- Euro 1996 quarter-final vs SPAIN, 22/06/1996 – WON 4-2
- Euro 1996 semi-final vs WEST GERMANY, 26/06/1996 – LOST 6-5
- Friendly vs BELGIUM, 29/05/1998 – LOST 4-3
- 1998 World Cup last 16 vs ARGENTINA, 30/06/1998 – LOST 4-3
- Euro 2004 quarter-final vs PORTUGAL, 24/06/2004 – LOST 6-5
- 2006 World Cup quarter-final vs PORTUGAL, 01/07/2006 – LOST 3-1
- Euro 2012 quarter-final vs ITALY, 24/06/2012 – LOST 4-2
- 2018 World Cup last 16 vs COLOMBIA, 03/07/2018 – WON 4-3
- vs SWITZERLAND – Nations League third-place play-off, 09/06/2019 – WON 6-5
- Euro 2020 final vs ITALY, 11/07/2021 – LOST 3-2
- OVERALL: Played 11, Won 3, Lost 8
He also claimed that he was unable to perform his “usual process” as he was stopped by referee Daniele Orsato.
He told ITV: “Firstly, the referee didn’t let me do my usual process so I had to adapt tonight, I like to give the lads a ball for a bit of calm and focus.
“I could only do it on the first one and luckily I saved it.
“I trust my process and what I do and I’ll save one but massive respect to the lads they stepped up to score all five the way they did – huge credit.”
Gareth Southgate‘s eye for detail is one reason behind the penalty shootout success.
He and his team went above and beyond to overcome what had become England‘s hoodoo in major tournaments.
Six years ago, a five-man penalty project team was established, including Chris Markham – the then game insights lead for The FA.
He reached out to Geir Jordet – a Norwegian sports psychologist who is a leading expert on spot kicks, dubbed ‘The Penalty Professor’.
Markham and his team had read Jordet’s comprehensive book, Pressure: Lessons from the psychology of the penalty shootout, and were keen speak to him and get his insights.
England's five-point penalty shootout plan
EXPERT football psychologist Professor Geir Jordet has told Gareth Southgate and his players what they can do to give themselves the best chance of victory in any shootouts.
And he has even thrown in a rogue, bold suggestion for the Three Lions manager…
1. START PLANNING LAST YEAR
“It’s about planning for the opposition’s penalty takers but also ‘how do we win the psychological game against each opponent?’
2. SMART SOUTHGATE LEADERSHIP
“Southgate will have two minutes to influence his players as effectively as possible, show he has a plan and get confidence across.”
3. DICTATE AS A TEAM
“A shootout is really a team performance. Have the goalkeeper walk with the penalty taker into the penalty area to basically create a two-versus-one against the other goalkeeper. Dominate the centre circle, support the players who missed.”
4. ‘BULLETPROOF’ INDIVIDUAL ROUTINES
“Have really good, individualised and rehearsed pre-shot routines that are bulletproof and polished so they’re more likely to be able to resist the stress and more likely to score.”
5. SHOOT YOUR SHOT
“Practise the shot itself, trying to simulate penalty shootouts in training. Even recreating 20 per cent of a Euros final penalty shootout is going to have a benefit for your performance.”
AND A JOR DROPPING IDEA…
Jordan Pickford is the No1 but Dean Henderson actually has a far better penalty record – saving 8/22 (36 per cent) compared to Pickford’s 8/62 (13 per cent).
Jordet said: “One could consider making a late substitution for a penalty shootout. I doubt that they dare to do it in case it fails and the pressure is even higher but it would be a very ballsy move.”