I study World Cup penalty shoot-outs: they say a lot about the psychology of performance under pressure

Sierra Leone’s John Thomas ‘Jay Tee’ Kamara scores during a penalty shoot-out against Azerbaijan in March 2026. Credit: Aziz Karimov/FIFA via Getty Taking a penalty kick in a World Cup football shoot-out means performing an action under extreme pressure. The binary nature of the outcome, the importance of the shot for the game’s result, the drama surrounding penalties and the abundance of video evidence from every angle also make shoot-outs a fertile real-world laboratory for understanding human behaviour under pressure. Lessons from penalty shoot-outs can reveal a lot about how people handle other stressful situations, such as important exams or job interviews. I began researching penalty kicks systematically in 2004, shortly after earning my PhD in sport psychology. In a direct knock-out tournament (such as the later stages of the World Cup), teams resort to penalty shoot-outs to break a tie after extra time. My data stem from online archival records, video analyses and interviews with players and coaches. I have put my research into practice at the World Cup and Europe’s UEFA Champions League, helping football teams to prepare for the eventuality of penalties. But I have applied these insights to other sports, too. For instance, I was a pressure consultant for Europe’s golf team at the 2025 Ryder Cup. I advised on how to train for and cope with pressure at that year’s US venue. …