MIND GAMES
Dele will take penalty as Three Lions analyse perfect mindset before a kick
DELE ALLI has volunteered for a penalty shoot-out spot-kick if England’s last-16 clash with Colombia goes the distance.
The Tottenham star has already told Gareth Southgate he wants to be in the first five takers if England find themselves in a shoot-out.
FA technical director Dan Ashworth has revealed boss Southgate and his stars have carried out a forensic-style scientific study into the psychology of penalty-taking.
A research team has broken down the whole process – from the dreaded walk to the spot to the reactions to scoring a successful kick.
One of the conclusions is that in past shoot-out failures England players have rushed their kicks – and not composed themselves enough like penalty king Cristiano Ronaldo (inset, top) who puts himself in “the zone”.
England lost six of their seven penalty shoot-outs with the only success against Spain in Euro 96.
They have lost in the 1990 World Cup semi-finals against Germany, the Euro ’96 semis, when Southgate missed, also against Germany, in the 1998 World Cup last 16 against Argentina, the Euro 2004 quarter-finals against Portugal, the 2006 World Cup quarters, again against Portugal, and Euro 2012 quarters against Italy.
Ashworth (inset, below) said: “We’ve got a research team on it to come back with some interesting findings.
“Gareth would joke that he’s hardly the man to lead it. But actually he is.
“He’s very insightful and very detailed in his thought processes. I’m not going to give you any secrets but you can break the penalty shoot-out down. So when the whistle goes you’ve got a couple of minutes to prepare, so how do you do that?
“Where do you do that on the pitch? Who’s involved? Where do you stand as a team during the shoot-out? From where do you begin the walk?
“Then when the whistle goes. There’s been a little bit of research done to show that English players are quick to the ball when the whistle goes.
“When the referee’s whistle goes, you’ve got as long as you want to take the penalty.
“As a nation over the years we’ve been a bit quick. You look at the other nations, they take a bit more time. There are some interesting patterns.” Research has showed the first and fourth kicks are the most vital in a successful shoot-out.
Southgate’s ideal penalty taking team in order would be skipper Harry Kane followed by Spurs team-mate Kieran Trippier, then Jordan Henderson, Jamie Vardy and Alli in fifth.
And Alli said: “You have to try and control every situation. You have to own it. I want to help the team “I’m confident in myself, and what’s meant to be will be. I have to work hard on the penalties, and we have been. We’ve been trying to own the situation, not let it own us.
“We’ve been looking into various things. We’re confident and looking to change things. Everyone wants to step up and help the team. If I’m on the pitch, I want to take one. I’ll ask to take one.
“We’ve practised a lot, everyone has, not just those who want to take them. We’ve been trying to make it as realistic as we can – and it’s been good.”