A British study could explain why English soccer teams lose matches on kicks from the penalty spot . The results could help coaches choose the best players when taking penalties.
According to researchers from the University of Exeter in the latest issue of the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , the key to their study lies in the effects of anxiety on the movement of the footballer's eyes when he is about to throw the ball. Specifically, the study shows that when players taking the penalty are nervous, their gaze is focused on the goalkeeper for longer than if they feel relaxed . And this behavior of the eye makes them tend to throw the ball to the center of the goal, instead of in the optimal areas for the goal, making it easier for the goalkeeper to stop the shot.
"In a high stress situation, we are more predisposed to focus on any challenging stimulus and concentrate on it," explains Professor Greg Wood, who believes that coaches could apply training techniques that would habituate players not to get carried away by it. effect when executing a maximum sentence.
