Penalty shootouts can be intense, confrontational & volatile. The clash between Argentina and the Netherlands was epic in this sense, culminating with Argentina winning and tauntingly celebrating in front of the Dutch. What events in the shootout led up to this moment? Thread 1/
What ultimately set things on fire in the penalty shootout was the fight around the mid circle prior to Argentinaโs last kick. As Lautaro Martinez started walking from the mid circle, he was accompanied and harassed by several Dutch players, Dumpfries seemingly most active. 2/
However, tension was building from the beginning in the shootout. The transition when the ball is handed over to the penalty taker provide goalkeepers ample opportunity to engage with the opponent, disturb & show him disrespect. Noppert started very subtly with Messi. 3/
Martinez escalated slightly when handing the ball over to Berghuis. Seemingly innocent, but he hits the sweet spot between appearing jovial, but really being a thug. This gives the penalty taker another thing to think about pre kick: Berghuis smiled upon run-up & missed. 4/
Most goalkeepers make a save, produce a small gesture and quietly walk away. Martinez is not like other goalkeepers. He has a wide repertoire of penalty save celebrations. Hereโs the save from Berghuis and his instantaneous celebration. 5/
Thereโs a risk of catching yellow cards while engaging in these behaviors. Thus, when the referee turned away for a moment, Martinez saw his chance to kick the ball away. Weghorst needed help retrieving it. Not a big deal, but enough to disturb and annoy. 6/
Things naturally got more heated as the shootout proceeded. After Weghorstโs goal, a small fight erupted with Martinez over the ball. Dumfries also wanted a word and was on his way over to take part. 7/
How can you prevent these hostile opponent goalkeeper hand-offs? One way is for your own goalkeeper to hand the ball to the next teammate penalty taker. Noppert figured this out & here hands the ball to de Jong. Too late for the Dutch team though. 8/
The final kick in the penalty shootout brought the final confrontation. Lautaro Martinez, having just been hounded by Dumfries on his way from the mid circle, gets a final antagonistic kiss by Noppert (and hits back), before he ultimately scores to seal the win for Argentina. 9/
Goalkeeper mind games are not new to football, and Emi Martinez is one of the stars at it. Iโve tweeted about him at length before, here: 10/
Historically, the Dutch are no angels either though. Hans van Breukelen was one of the mind game pioneers, here from 1988. 11/
If you liked this thread, and you're interested in football, penalties and psychology, join my community here footballpsychlab.com
Or, sign up for my live "Psychology of penalty kicks" webinar held on Thursday, December 15 at 4pm CET, here: footballpsychlab.com
Or, sign up for my live "Psychology of penalty kicks" webinar held on Thursday, December 15 at 4pm CET, here: footballpsychlab.com
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