QI | What Is The Best Way To Score A Penalty?

Statistically speaking, what is the best way to score a penalty?
Stephen Fry, Alan Davies, Sue Perkins, Chris Addison and Sara Cox are about to find out.

From QI Series M, Episode 16, 'Misconceptions'.

[LaurensPP]

This analysis is missing something though. If all players would always aim down the center it would stop working very, very quickly.

[ChubbyChecker]

England have Won 2 out of 9 now (post World Cup 2018). A success rate.

[NxDoyle]

I've been in two penalty shootouts in my life. One was an indoor game, we lost the shootout because the keeper saved my shot, bottom right, and another of our guys (the fact that his was after mine didn't make me feel any better). The other was a regular 11-a-side match and my penalty was to win and advance to the final. I drilled it down the middle as hard as I could and the keeper went right, the ball hit his boot but still went in, thankfully. Then we lost the final, a score too embarrassing to repeat, even 25 years later on YouTube.

[JJhudson]

in 1998 Alan Shearer told David Batty to shoot down the middle if he wasn't sure. He went for the corner, and the keeper saved it.

[danielcarr]

It also doesn't take into account the fact that the keepers feet will be in the middle even if he dives, so the striker will have to go middle high. That's quite a difficult movement to disguise, unlike a low side foot. Additionally even if a keeper guesses right, he has to get down low enough in time if the ball is in the corner as he can't reach it with his feet, so reflexes play a part.

[dazzaboy]

Why has "at the ball" just absolutely slayed me?

[Broccoli_Highkicks]

A truly great penalty taker waits until the last split second to decide, when they see the goalie commit to a side. But even if the goalie goes to the correct corner, a perfectly kicked penalty is still likelier to go in than to be saved; it'll be too fast, or just out of reach. Point is, it's not just a lottery, there is an actual skill to it that some are just better at than others, on both sides. And like any skill, it can be honed. It's the people who believe that it's just luck, who don't bother to practice, that are generally less good at it.

[TomVacara]

Chile rather like penalties these days.

[GuanoLad]

They should get Sara Cox back for a few episodes, she was good.

[blabla-rgky]

anybody remembers the WC match when van gaal changed the goalie before penalties and won the game? Not sure how/if it relates to this videoclip, but I just remembered that moment after watching this clip. Damn, that's been some God's level inspiration right there!

[TheNiekvdlaaken]

I love how this is recommended to me after last nights European Championship final😂

[bwalker]

It's hilarious that players would rather lose than take a chance to look like a fool.

[Truffle_Pup]

What a day for this to turn up on my feed. Unlucky Harry.

[ClarinoI]

Annoyingly as a child this happened to me. In a Cub Scout football match, I had been placed in defence. Not my natural position, but I did the best I could. For reasons passing understanding when my team got a penalty, the coach (father of the popular kid, who was obviously centre forward) told me to take it. We had not practiced penalties, so I was a little nervous. I kicked it straight at the keeper, who fell on it.



Nobody had told me that was statistically the best way to take a penalty, but I got a lot of grief for it from the team and was never moved out of defence. Wasn't asked to take a penalty again though.

[samgibbs]

The only reason it is easier to score in the centre in professional football is because the keeper has to predict what way the player is going because their shots are very powerful. But if I went down the middle in a Sunday league game the keeper would probably save it because he wouldn't predict which way I was going, he would just try and save it wherever it went.

[tubeyhamster]

This reminds me of a podcast I listened to about a basketball coach who determined that the surest way to make free throws from the foul line was to shoot the ball underhanded (granny style). But basketball players won’t do it because they feel foolish if they do it that way.

[NewMessage]

The best part of this clip is that the name tags are completely unexplained.

[nicktecky]

There once was a footballer from Brazil, who had a knack of scoring penalties. He took part in a coaching series of films, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola.
He gave the answer to this question: practice a single style, and always do that, achieve the highest speed on the ball you can. Always aim the ball low, and within two feet of the post. The only way the goalkeeper can reach the ball is if he moves first, which the referee should penalise.
Well practiced, the only risk is the referee making a bad call. That man's name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, also known as Pelé.
I'll take his word for it.

[aDifferentJT]

You couldn’t kick it into the centre many times before goalies learnt and saved it every time.

[Comrade_Jason]

It happened! Morocco vs Spain World Cup 2022. The winning goal was straight at the goalie.