Penalty Kick Research Articles

The Game Theory of Football Penalty Kicks

Abstract. Soccer is the world's number one sport, known for its fierce rivalries and full of surprises. Especially in important international competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships, matches are often about national honor and the expectations of millions of fans. Penalty kicks are a common punishment in soccer, where the goalkeeper and the shooter are pitted against each other in a one-on-one confrontation. Penalty kicks, because of their simplicity of confrontation, have a breath-taking tension and excitement, and most of the victory depends on the decision-making confrontation between the shooter and the goalkeeper. Game theory is an important tool for studying how participants make decisions to maximize their own gains in situations of conflict and competition. In order to study how the goalkeeper saves most effectively, this paper analyzes the penalty shot from the perspective of game theory, and obtains the optimal solution for the goalkeeper's save direction in a simplified situation by calculating the Nash equilibrium under mixed strategies.

Influence of video instruction on soccer kick velocity in young players

Soccer is a sport that necessitates proficiency in motor control and cognitive abilities, with kicking serving as a fundamental action. Improving kicking performance is vital for player advancement, leading to the inquiry: “How can video instruction promptly optimize kicking technique in young players?”. This research aimed to investigate the immediate effects of an instructional video on the kinematic variables of kicking to induce an acute alteration in the movement pattern. A cohort of 26 male youths, aged between 10 and 15 years, partook in the study and were segregated into an instruction group (IG) and a control group (CG). The IG received exposure to a video containing specific kicking instructions, while the CG viewed a video lacking such guidance. Both groups were recorded performing penalty kicks before and after viewing the video. Kinematic analysis was carried out utilizing the OpenPose artificial intelligence neural network for pose detection and subsequent 3D reconstruction. The primary discovery was that the length of the last stride (LS) notably increased in the IG following the instructional video. This outcome indicates that video instructions hold promise in promptly enhancing particular aspects of kicking technique in young soccer players.

Home-Field Advantage in Soccer: UEFA Champions League and Europa League Evaluation on the 2021-2022 Season

Competition analysis in football is an important method to evaluate the success and failure of teams. Home advantage is considered as an important factor in achieving success in competitions. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of home advantage on technical criteria in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, which are organised at club level, played in the 2021-2022 season. In the data collection phase, descriptive survey method was used. Within the scope of the research, a total of 262 football matches, excluding the final matches played at neutral grounds and total of 744 goals scored in these matches were analysed in terms of home and away teams in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. The goals scored were categorised as the goal minutes intervals, the goal scoring areas (Inside the Penalty Area: IPA; Outside the Penalty Area: OPA), the ways goals were scored (Head Kick; Foot Kick), the number of touches on the ball before the goal (1 Touch: 1T; 2 Touches: 2T; 3 Touches: 3T; 4 Touches + >4T), the direction of attack before the goal and the goals scored from set-pieces (Corner Kick; Penalty Kick and Free Kick) for the home and away teams. The images of the analysed goals were accessed on the UEFA official website with open access permission. Frequency (f) and percentage (%) were calculated for the evaluation of the data obtained, and since the data did not show normal distribution according to the Shapiro-Wilk test results, Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to look at the difference between the groups and the significance level was accepted as p

Sequential analysis of the interaction between kicker and goalkeeper in penalty kicks

Within the observational methodology, an analysis of the interaction between kickers and goalkeepers has been carried out, in penalty kicks taken in international team competitions, which allows the goalkeeper to obtain relevant information about the area of the goal to which the kick is going to be directed from the information perceived at different moments of the kick. Data recording and coding was carried out using LINCE software. The record, based on the observation instrument, is structured around four critical frames and possible conditional frames. The reliability of the records was guaranteed by intra-observer and inter-observer agreement, using Cohen's Kappa coefficient. A lag sequential analysis has been carried out, which has been facilitated by the diachronic structure of the record. Based on the results of this analysis, it concluded with a series of relevant guidelines that can be used by goalkeeping coaches to help their goalkeepers to face a penalty kick, considering the information of the context of the penalty kick, of the moment in which the kicker starts his approach to the ball, the interaction between the kicker and the goalkeeper, the moment in which the non-dominant leg of the kicker makes his last support before the kick, and the moment in which the kicker hits the ball. En el seno de la metodología observacional se ha realizado un análisis de la interacción entre lanzadores y porteros, en penaltis ejecutados en competiciones internacionales de selecciones, que permita al portero obtener información relevante sobre la zona de la portería a la que va a ir dirigido el lanzamiento a partir de la información extraída en diferentes momentos del lanzamiento. El registro y codificación de los datos se ha realizado mediante el software LINCE. El registro, a partir del instrumento de observación, se vertebra por cuatro critical frames y de posibles conditional frames. Se ha garantizado la fiabilidad de los registros mediante concordancia intra-observador e inter-observadores, utilizando el coeficiente Kappa de Cohen. Se ha realizado un análisis secuencial de retardos que se ha visto facilitado por la estructura diacrónica del registro. Fruto de los resultados de este análisis se concluye con una serie de pautas relevantes que puedan servir a entrenadores de porteros para ayudar a sus porteros a afrontar un lanzamiento de penalti, considerando la información del contexto del penalti, del momento en el que el lanzador comienza su aproximación al balón, de la interacción mantenida entre lanzador y portero, del momento en que la pierna no dominante del lanzador hace su último apoyo antes del golpeo, y del momento en que el lanzador golpea el balón. No âmbito da metodologia observacional, foi realizada uma análise da interação entre os cobradores e os guarda-redes, em penalidades cobradas em competições internacionais de seleções nacionais, o que permite ao guarda-redes obter informações relevantes sobre a zona da meta para a qual o pontapé vai ser dirigido a partir das informações extraídas em diferentes momentos do tiro. O registo e a codificação dos dados foram efectuados com recurso ao software LINCE. O registo, a partir do instrumento de observação, baseia-se em quatro quadros críticos e possíveis quadros condicionais. A fiabilidade dos registos foi garantida através da concordância intra-observador e inter-observador, utilizando o coeficiente Kappa de Cohen. Foi realizada uma análise sequencial, facilitada pela estrutura diacrónica do registo. Como resultado dos resultados desta análise, concluímos com uma série de orientações relevantes que podem ser utilizadas pelos treinadores de guarda-redes para ajudar os seus guarda-redes a enfrentar um penalti, considerando a informação do contexto do penalti, o momento em que o rematador inicia a sua aproximação à bola, a interação entre o rematador e o guarda-redes, o momento em que a perna não dominante do rematador faz o seu último apoio antes do remate, e o momento em que o rematador bate a bola.

Perceptual training with implicit and explicit learning improves the prediction of ball direction in soccer penalty kicks.

Perceptual training enhances the ability to anticipate crucial information for decision-making, for example, a soccer goalkeeper predicting penalty kick direction. However, it remains unclear whether perceptual practice alone (implicit method) is sufficient for optimal decision-making improvement, or whether emphasising pertinent details during practice (explicit method) could yield better results. This study compared implicit and explicit methods of learning ball direction prediction during soccer penalties, involving both goalkeepers and non-soccer players (novices). Participants engaged in a single training session, either through the explicit method (watching videos highlighting relevant information) or implicit method (watching regular videos). Specialised software was used to display penalty kick videos, mimicking the goalkeeper's viewpoint up to 200 ms before ball contact, and measuring reaction time and response choice. Both implicit and explicit training led to consistent performance gains for goalkeepers and novices alike, notably enhancing ball direction prediction accuracy. Reaction time was unaffected by training. This suggests that both explicit and implicit training methods exhibit similar effectiveness, applicable to soccer goalkeepers and novices.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Penalty Kicks in the UEFA Champions League: Optimal Techniques and Directions for Scoring Success

This study examined the strategic execution of penalty kicks in professional soccer, focusing on the high-stakes environment of the UEFA Champions League. Utilizing a dataset of 243 penalty kicks from five seasons (2018/2019–2022/2023), sourced from YouTube and cross-referenced with Transfermarkt, we employed a detailed nine-zone goal classification system to analyze shot distribution and success rates. We investigated various factors influencing penalty outcomes, including match stage, home-field advantage, minute of the match, current score, player status, previous score, footedness, and rebound goals. Findings indicated that shots aimed at the center and upper areas of the goal have the highest success rates. It was also found that home advantage considerably enhances scoring chances in both group and knockout stages. This research fills a gap in the literature by providing insights into penalty kick strategies in the UEFA Champions League, offering valuable implications for coaching practices, player training, and analytical frameworks in high-pressure scenarios.

Machine learning-based identification of the strongest predictive features of scoring penalty kick in football

In football, the penalty is the situation that has one of the highest chances of scoring a goal. However, the success of a penalty kick highly depends on many kinds of attributes, including the penalty-takers’ abilities, the amount of fan pressure, the minute of the match, and the current score. In this paper, 16 features extracted from penalty kick positions, penalty-takers’ information, and match-day preferences and machine learning used to predict penalty kick result. Moreover, we revealed the most important feature combination that significantly affected the success of a penalty kick. The proposed method was trained with 120 and tested with 50 penalty kicks from the Turkish Super League in terms of classification accuracy and polygon area metric. We concluded that the result of a penalty kick can be predicted with a mean classification accuracy and mean polygon area metric rates of 79.80% and 0.60 using the k-nearest neighbor classifier.

Analysis of Penalty Kick Performance in the Spanish Football League: A Longitudinal Study

Analysis of Penalty Kick Performance in the Spanish Football League: A Longitudinal Study

Fairer Shootouts in Soccer: The (m, n) Rule

Summary Winning the coin toss at the end of a tied soccer game gives a team the right to choose whether to kick either first or second on all five rounds of penalty kicks, where each team is allowed one kick per round. There is considerable evidence that the right to make this choice, which is usually to kick first, gives a team a significant advantage. To make the outcome of a tied game fairer, we suggest a rule that handicaps the team that kicks first (A), requiring it to succeed on one more penalty kick than the team that kicks second (B). We call this the m − n rule and, more specifically, propose ( m , n ) = ( 5 , 4 ) : For A to win, they must successfully kick 5 goals before the end of the round in which B kicks its 4th; for B to win, it must succeed on 4 penalty kicks before A succeeds on 5. If both teams reach ( 5 , 4 ) on the same round—when they both kick successfully at ( 4 , 3 ) —then the game is decided by round-by-round “sudden death,” in which the winner is the first team to score in a subsequent round when the other team does not. We show that this rule is fair in tending to equalize the ability of each team to win a tied game in a penalty shootout. We also discuss a sequential rule that precludes the teams from reaching ( 5 , 4 ) at the same time, obviating the need for sudden death and extra rounds.

Gender differences in the determinants of choking under pressure: Evidence from penalty kicks in soccer

Gender differences in the determinants of choking under pressure: Evidence from penalty kicks in soccer

Ego-depletion and motor skill performance under pressure—experimental effects of a short term virtual-reality based mindfulness breathing meditation with integrated biofeedback

Ego-depletion describes a state of mind, where the capacity for self-control is temporarily depleted after a primary self-control action. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a brief virtual reality-based mindfulness breathing meditation with integrated biofeedback can be considered an effective strategy to counteract the detrimental effects of ego depletion on motor skill performance under pressure. The study included two experiments, each of them designed as counterbalanced cross-over trials and based on an a priori sample-size calculation. Within each experiment, participants completed two appointments in a randomly assigned order, during which they were asked to perform 20 basketball free throws (N = 18; Experiment 1) or 20 penalty kicks at a football goal in four target squares (N = 16; Experiment 2) under pressure pre and post the following conditions: Stroop-test-induced ego depletion followed by a 15 min resting break, Stroop-test-induced ego depletion followed by a 15 min virtual reality-based mindfulness breathing meditation with integrated biofeedback. Results indicate that, in comparison to a resting break, a brief virtual reality-based mindfulness meditation with integrated biofeedback can counteract the detrimental effects of ego-depletion (Experiment 2) and enhance motor skill performance under pressure (Experiment 1, 2) Implications for researchers and practitioners are derived in light of the identified methodological limitations.

Does Guilt Affect Performance? Evidence from Penalty Kicks in Football

Does guilt affect performance? In our study, we exploit a new measure of justification for penalty decisions in football and find that unjustified penalty calls negatively impact penalty conversion rates. This effect escalates in relation to social norms of trust. To add a layer of complexity, we incorporate the variance originating from players who do not play in their countries of origin. This allows us to include the norms of both the league and the kickers’ countries of origin. From this, we divide the constraints on egoism into two categories: internal sanctions, such as guilt, and external sanctions, such as shame. Our findings reveal that both guilt and shame significantly influence the performance of penalty kickers.

Identifying Goalkeeper Movement Timing from Single-Camera Broadcast Footage through Pose Estimation: A Pilot Study

This study explores how open-source pose estimation can be utilized to identify goalkeeper dive initiation during soccer penalty kicks. The purpose of this study is to provide an accessible, low-cost heuristic methodology for identifying goalkeeper dive initiation. This study uses single-camera broadcast footage (1080 p resolution, 50 frames per second) of all 41 penalty shootout kicks attempted during the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup. We isolated each penalty kick and recorded the frames of goalkeeper dive initiation and flight. We then identified goalposts to create a homography matrix to account for camera movement and identified the goalkeeper’s skeletal keypoints through pose estimation. From these keypoints, we derived frontal plane kinematics for the torso and legs. We identified local extrema for each kinematic variable and isolated the last observed extrema prior to goalkeeper flight for each variable. Using OLS regression, we found that the last local extremum of the goalkeeper centroid’s y-value was the strongest predictor of labeled commitment to the dive side, with an R2 of 0.998 and a p-value of 0.00. The results of this research are preliminary but demonstrate the promise of pose estimation in identifying sport-specific action timing during live game play using a single camera.

Goalkeepers benefit from using deceptive actions in the soccer penalty kick

ABSTRACT Most studies on deception in soccer penalty kicks have focused on the deceptive actions used by penalty takers. However, it is worth noting that deception can also be played out by goalkeepers. To examine the effectiveness of goalkeepers’ deceptive actions in professional competition, we analysed 714 penalty kicks taken during matches in the English Premier League and German Bundesliga, spanning the seasons from 2016–2017 to 2019–2020. We scored whether goalkeepers used deception, and if so, what type of deception, the outcome of the penalty and the kicking strategy of the penalty taker. The results showed that goalkeepers used deception in half of the penalty kicks, resulting in significantly less goals compared to penalties without deception. This advantage was similar for the different types of deception, but larger when penalty takers paid attention to goalkeepers. We propose that the deceptive actions by goalkeepers are effective, mainly because it leads the penalty taker to lose focus. The practical implications of these findings are discussed for both goalkeepers and penalty takers.

Strategic insights into penalty kick execution: A comprehensive analysis of observable behaviors in the German Bundesliga

This study aimed to investigate which observable variables would be able to predict the penalty taker strategy; and to identify the prevalence of the penalty taker strategy in successful penalty kicks. Dataset consists of 220 penalty kicks from the German Bundesliga (2019-2021). Video-based performance analysis of in-match penalty kicks was performed. Chi-squared (χ2) test and logistic regression (enter method) analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between observable behaviors and the penalty-taker strategy. The following behavior: gaze behavior at the ball, no deception, number of steps more than 3, perceived ball speed as powerful shot, run up speed fast, penalty kick shot height at the center or down, kicking technique instep kick, and run up approach frontal was related to the goalkeeper independent strategy (χ2 (177) = 211.049, 96%, p < .001). In successful penalty kicks the independent goalkeeper strategy was more adopted (59.87%). The differentiation between penalty kick patterns provides scientific and practical insights as it enables researchers to identify patterns in the German Bundesliga. Through analysis of the kicker's running pattern, deception actions, gaze behavior, and kicking technique, football practitioners may attempt to determine the kicker's favored approach, and ultimately the penalty kick strategy, so they can inform coaching staff and players.

Effects of Cognitive and Physical Exercise on Soccer Penalty Kicking

Abstract: This exploratory study examined the effects of previous exercise on goal-side selection in soccer penalty kicking. Two types of 30-min exercise were tested and compared with a control group in an off-center paradigm. The cognitive-exercise group performed the d2 test of attention and the physical-exercise group rode on a fitness bicycle. In the off-center paradigm, participants viewed images of a goalkeeper in a soccer goal, who stood either in the middle of the goal or slightly displaced to the left or right. During the experiment, all participants selected the greater goal side for kicking when they perceived the goalkeeper’s position in the middle of the goal (i. e., off-center effect). However, only participants of the cognitive-exercise group demonstrated a strong bias for the right goal side, indicating visual–spatial pseudoneglect for the goalkeeper position. Therefore, only previous cognitive and not physical exercise appears to affect perception and decision-making in soccer penalty kicking.

The effects of simulated monocular and binocular vision impairment on football penalty kick performance.

Sports performance is relatively robust under high levels of binocular blur. However, the limited research studies investigating monocular impairments has shown it has a larger impact on sport performance. This research study is relevant for classification in sports for athletes with vision impairment (VI), where visual acuity (VA) from the better eye is used during classification. Across two experiments, we aimed to establish the point at which binocular and monocular impairments affected performance in a football penalty kick (PK) through simulating varying severities of degraded VA and contrast sensitivity (CS) in active football players. In experiment one, 25 footballers performed PKs as VA and CS were systematically decreased in both eyes, and in one condition, visual field (VF) was reduced. The most severe VA/CS condition and reduced VF significantly impacted outcome, ball velocity and placement (ball kicked closer to the centre of the goal) (p<0.05). In experiment two, 29 different footballers performed PKs as VA and CS of only the dominant eye were systematically decreased and in one condition the dominant eye was occluded, and participants viewed their environment through the non-dominant eye (monocular viewing). No differences were observed when assessing monocular impairments influence on outcome, velocity and ball placement. PKs have a high resilience to VI, but binocular impairment has a more immediate effect, suggesting binocular measures should be used in classification processes in football.

Correlation Between Kinesthetic Perception and Confidence Against Soccer Penalty Kick Results

This study aims to determine the correlation between kinesthetic perception and self- confidence in the results of soccer penalty kicks by the players of the Medan State University Student Soccer Team. And to find out the joint correlation between kinesthetic perception and self-confidence on the results of the penalty kicks of the Medan State University Student Soccer Team players. The sample consisted of 30 players from the Medan State University Student Soccer Team who were selected by simple random sampling. The results of the research carried out are: In the first hypothesis there is a significant correlation between kinesthetic perception and the results of a soccer player's penalty kick at the State University of Medan obtained a t-count of 26.39 which is greater than the t-table of 1.70. The second hypothesis is that there is a significant correlation between self-confidence and achievement in the results of the soccer penalty kicks of the Medan State University team, which has a t- count of 6.59 and is greater than a t-table of 1.70. In the third hypothesis, there is a significant correlation between kinesthetic perception and self-confidence in the results of the Medan State University soccer penalty kick with a t-count of 160 which is greater than a t-table of 3.33. So it can be concluded that there is a significant relationship between variables and jointly on the penalty kick ability of the students of the Medan State University football team.

Robotics Perception: Intention Recognition to Determine the Handball Occurrence during a Football or Soccer Match

In football or soccer, a referee controls the game based on the set rules. The decisions made by the referee are final and can’t be appealed. Some of the decisions, especially after a handball event, whether to award a penalty kick or a yellow/red card can greatly affect the final results of a game. It is therefore necessary that the referee does not make an error. The objective is therefore to create a system that can accurately recognize such events and make the correct decision. This study chose handball, an event that occurs in a football game (Not to be confused with the game of Handball). We define a handball event using object detection and robotic perception and decide whether it is intentional or not. Intention recognition is a robotic perception of emotion recognition. To define handball, we trained a model to detect the hand and ball which are primary objects. We then determined the intention using gaze recognition and finally combined the results to recognize a handball event. On our dataset, the results of the hand and the ball object detection were 96% and 100% respectively. With the gaze recognition at 100%, if all objects were recognized, then the intention and handball event recognition were at 100%.

Acute effects of prismatic adaptation on penalty kick accuracy and postural control in young soccer players: A pilot study

BackgroundPrismatic adaptation (PA) is a visuomotor technique using prismatic glasses that are capable of moving the visual field and to affect the excitability of certain brain areas. The aim of this pilot study was to explore potential acute effects of PA on penalty kick accuracy and postural control in youth soccer players. MethodsIn this randomized crossover study, seven young male soccer players performed three PA sessions (rightward PA, r-PA; leftward PA, l-PA; sham PA, s-PA) with a washout period of 1-week between them. Immediately before and after each PA session, penalty kick accuracy and postural control were assessed. ResultsWe detected an increase in penalty kick accuracy following PA, regardless of the deviation side of the prismatic glasses (F1,5 = 52.15; p = 0.08; ηp2 = 0.981). In detail, our results showed an increase in the penalty kick accuracy toward the right target of the football goal following r-PA and toward the left target of the football goal following l-PA. We detected a significant effect on the sway path length (F2,12 = 10.42; p = 0.002; ηp2 = 0.635) and the sway average speed (F2,12 = 9.17; p = 0.004; ηp2 = 0.605) parameters in the stabilometric test with open eyes following PA, regardless of the deviation side of the prismatic glasses. In detail, our results showed a significant difference in both the stabilometric parameters (p = 0.016 and p = 0.009, respectively) only following l-PA. ConclusionThe findings of this pilot study indicate that PA could positively affect penalty kick accuracy and postural control suggesting that PA could be used as a visual training technique in athletes.