Pressure & better keepers – why penalties are being missed at Euro 2025

One of football history’s most dramatic penalties shootout between England and Sweden took place at Euro 2025.

Of the 14 spot-kicks taken, only five were scored, with six saved and three missed for a conversion rate of just 35.7%.

An odd outlier, perhaps? Not at all. At Euro 2025, penalties have been far from a guaranteed source of goals, with a tournament success rate of 58.5%.

Spain’s two penalties against Switzerland on Friday were both untimely, and Germany only had one saved when they faced France, before another three, all untimely, went wrong in a 14-penalty shootout that admittedly lacked the chaos of England v. Sweden.

The most recent 15 years’ success rate for a women’s tournament is the lowest. In comparison, 84.4% of penalties were scored at 2015 World Cup.

The success rate for the seven major women’s tournaments since 2011 and before Euro 2025 was 72.99%, slightly higher than the 70.5% that men have scored since 2010 in men’s competitions.

Since England won the Euro 2022 tournament, there is unquestionably more interest in women’s football than ever before.

A total of 7.4 million people watched their 2025 quarter-final against the Swedes on BBC One, and there has been a growth in media interest in the past three years.

Many of the Lionesses are household names, and women’s Super League games are now played in larger stadiums.

According to Geir Jordet, professor of football and psychology at the Norwegian School of Sports Science and author of Pressure: Lessons from the Psychology of the Penalty Shootout, being placed in more of the spotlight might be a contributing factor to missed penalties.

“We know from research that penalty takers are vulnerable to pressure”, he told BBC Sport. Men were the subjects of the majority of this research, but when pressure increases, performance decreases.

The interest in the women’s game has soared in recent years, according to the article. I am curious about whether that has an effect on these players.

“Of course there are exceptions, and a lot of people watch some games in the WSL,” he added. However, Premier League athletes earn $50,000 per week and earn $1,000,000 annually. That is new to these players.

I’m not saying that female players are under more pressure, but rather that it’s actually getting more pressure now than it once was. You must go through this to understand how to handle it.

Chloe Kelly, England’s forward, claimed that their ability to perform under pressure gave them some legitimacy to Jordet’s theory.

England have now won all three shootouts under Sarina Wiegman – against Sweden, Nigeria at the 2023 World Cup, and Brazil at the Finalissima at Wembley.

While increased interest in women’s football adds to the pressure, it also brings increased finances – allowing for more research and coaching.

Players generally work on and improve a particular type of penalty during training and games. But opponents can also anticipate their moves with greater accuracy because of better scouting and data analysis.

Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk had a list of England’s takers and their penalty style on her water bottle – and saved four spot-kicks in the shootout.

Hannah Hampton, a 32-year-old Englishwoman, and the pair both made the right decisions in five of the seven kicks they faced.

Ann-Katrin Berger, a German actress, chose her list for extra time, much like Falk did Falk.

“The takers have been rigorously mapped out – the keepers know these takers more now than in the past”, said Jordet.

As in men’s football, there is still a school of thought that penalties are a lottery and practice can never make perfect.

Sweden manager Peter Gerhardsson said: “Somewhere it is a personal responsibility.” Before the game against England. Players can practice penalties, but we haven’t set up anything.

” It is one of the most difficult moments in football. It’s so challenging to prepare.

However, that is a unique and perhaps out-of-date approach that England does not support.

Asked how much they had prepared for penalties, captain Leah Williamson said:” Loads.

Additionally, Jordet believes that female goalkeepers are more physically competent, which makes them more likely to save penalties.

He explained that goalkeeping has been lacking in development in the women’s game for a while. “There are physical limitations such as height and it is more difficult to defend the goal than male counterparts.

They are now finding ways to be smarter, to read their opponents, according to the statement.

Women’s football critics have gleefully posted videos of goalkeepers battling to stop tame shots for years, shared on social media, and written about how to play with smaller goals or pitches online.

But whether it was the five saves Hampton made on Thursday against Sweden, the four penalties stopped by Falk, or the absence of amateur keepers at the Euros, there is less evidence to support that view.

Hampton was concerned when Falk herself took the fifth penalty for England, not because the Lionesses had prepared for her reaction.

Khiara Keating, an England back-up goalkeeper, said, “I think sometimes keepers don’t get enough credit.”

Of course, there is some truth in the old adage of penalties being a lottery. Luck continues to be a crucial component in the micromanaged world of modern football out of all other things.

“Admitted Jordet,” “There may be no real reason, it may be random. Another 25 penalties and it might even out. “

After their opponents missed three of their own kicks, Gerhardsson’s team became the first women’s Euro team to lose a penalty shootout.

However, as women’s football recovers from a 50-year ban, the game will have improved in terms of technique and men’s football will start to take on more penalty-taking strategies.

This includes the “keeper-dependent technique,” which is practiced by Jordet and involves a player rolling the ball the other way while looking at the keeper and their position.

It is commonly seen from players such as Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, yet very rarely in women’s football.

The keeper was not waiting for the takers in the Sweden-England game. Mariona Caldentey of Spain, who was called bluff by Switzerland’s keeper Livia Peng, did not move and dived the right way as the penalty fell wide of the target during their 2-0 final-eight victory, but the drawback of that tactic was shown by the country’s Mariona Caldentey.

But we should expect to see more flexibility and a better penalty technique in women’s football – and it was that adaptability that ultimately helped England progress.

Although she later revealed to BBC Sport that this was not her original plan, Lucy Bronze did not score the decisive penalty with a strike that was more than 63mph.

The Chelsea full-back said, “I kind of changed my mind because I hurt my leg a little bit during the game.”

” Also I watched the goalkeeper in every single penalty and she dived quite early, and statistically in a shootout it’s quite risky for the keeper to stand still and]someone] go down the middle.