The Anderson method to scoring, saving penalties ›
That was always part of the plan. I was supposed to take a shot and when I train personally, I practice penalties. CURTIS ANDERSON, England goalie
KOLKATA:AS Tuesday’s pre-quarterfinal in the FIFA U-17 World Cup moved to penalties and Yukinari Sugawara stepped up to take Japan’s first shot, Curtis Anderson smiled.
The England goalkeeper would do that and keep chatting every time an opponent stepped up to take the spot kick. Goalkeepers’ antics during penalties to rile shooters aren’t unusual – Jerzy Dudek’s hip shakes during what is known as the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ in 2003 would perhaps occupy pole position -- but to see someone beaming on the goalline certainly is.
SLIP-UP IN EUROPE
More so since England and tiebreakers have the kind of history that would make a lot of goalies get wobbly legs.
Anderson was on the bench on a May night this year when England lost to Spain on penalties and missed being European U-17 champions. The boy who stood in goal, Josef Bursik, that night is the only player to not get a game so far in the U-17 World Cup. Anderson had also watched England’s Rhian Brewster hit the post and Joel Latibeaudiere miss from the spot.
Asked whether that night was playing on his mind, Anderson said: “Well, we didn’t think about losing on penalties, choosing instead to focus on ourselves and pick a side (to dive).”
Anderson, who is with Manchester City, saved Hinata Kida’s shot which was Japan’s third. Next up, he took England’s fourth penalty and converted.
“That was always part of the plan. I was supposed to take a shot and when I train personally, I practice penalties. But I wouldn’t like to take a penalty in normal time.”
STOPS AND SCORES
Speaking about the penalties after the game, coach Steve Cooper had said Anderson taking a shot was “very much part of the plan. We do have a strategy and whoever is in the list and on the pitch will take a shot.”
Anderson’s save and conversion made the difference between flying to Goa for the quarterfinal and going home. And he did that in front of 53,302 people who were making quite a noise.
“I didn’t really notice the crowd during the penalties, I am in the mould myself and I didn’t really hear them. But the crowd here is really very good, I mean the number of people who have turned up here for games,” said Anderson.
Should Anderson again play in front of such a crowd, it would be on the last day of the tournament, October 28.
“Yes, I would like to be back but we will take games as they come.” For once, an English team won a penalty shootout. Phew! That’s monkey off our back. As far as I can recollect, it’s been close to a quarter of a century since England probably won a match on penalties.
The 12-yard trick has haunted England for long and I thought we were doomed again, finding our U-17s in the same situation. It was so good to see the boys overcome the hurdle. Playing Japan was always going to be tough. They looked fit unit and technically good; credit to Japan for putting up a brilliant show.
England’s next game is against USA and it will be tight too. They have adapted well to the conditions. If their win over Paraguay is anything to go by, USA would prove equally hard. I watched them against India and thought they could go a long way in the tournament.
It was nowhere near the magnitude of the 1966 World Cup triumph, but it was great to see England win the FIFA U-20 World Cup this year. In India, the Young Lions have equalled our best showing in U-17 World Cup. I hope they emulate the U-20s.
So far their performances have been encouraging. Coach Steve Cooper couldn’t have wished for a better group stage as England won every game, displaying quality football.
Plenty of great talent has been on show at this World Cup, but as the Chennaiyin FC coach, I was taking keen interest in India. What I liked most about the Indian boys was their courage. Yes, there were some nerves in the opening fixture, but every game they showed signs of improvement technically, tactically and mentally. I felt they were incredibly unlucky not to get a result against Colombia.