Spain and Sweden will play in one of the semifinals of world Australia and New Zealand after qualifying by eliminating the Netherlands and Japan respectively in the quarterfinals, without the need for a penalty shootout. However, it cannot be denied that it can be achieved due to the parity between the two teams.
In fact, Sweden already had to go through a deadly shootout from eleven meters in the round of 16 against the United States, which they managed to eliminate. Today, the Swedish press published how the Nordic team solves its penalty kicks when necessary. Magnus Wikman, assistant coach of the Swedish team, the rival of Spain in the semifinals on Tuesday, revealed how it was decided who would shoot from 11 meters.
It basically comes down to who is on the field. “When five players say yes, they want to throw them, the next part begins: the turn order. In general, we like the best to throw first because it can give the group something else. But we consult with the players: is there someone who likes to hit or prefers not to hit in a certain order? So we also try to adapt it a little bit to get the most out of their state of mind. Because someone might have already decided they were in the locker room the day before, but after 120 minutes, the pulsations are at the top and things can change”, he explained.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
