Analyzing the Relationship Between Game Factors and Psychological Pressure During a Penalty Kick

Abstract

A Penalty Kick is the most advantageous dead ball situation in soccer. It is a direct spot kick twelve yards away from the goal with only the goalkeeper to beat. Instead of an issue with soccer technique or skill that causes professional players to miss penalty kicks, it is hypothesized that the psychological pressure infiltrating the penalty kick taker creates self-doubt, freezing up, and uncharacteristic errors, preventing them from striking the ball into the goal using their highest potential. Forty-six total penalty kick cases that occurred either during the 2018 Men’s FIFA World Cup or 2020 Men’s European Championships were analyzed along with a questionnaire sent out to players on the 2021/2022 Pine Creek High School Men’s Varsity Soccer Team to determine the specific game factors that influence the most psychological pressure. The conclusion of this study is that the time of when the penalty kick occurs during the match has the greatest impact on the psychological pressure a player experiences and has the most influence on the outcome of the penalty kick. The pressure a player experiences increases as the game goes on, with the most pressure and lowest level of penalty kick performance happening at the end of a game.