England practice penalty kicks with a special net

* England - Senegal: 2 am on 5/12, on MetaSports.

England have increased their 11m kick exercises from December 1, after beating Wales 3-0 in the last leg of Group B on November 30.

According to Sunsport, right after arriving in Qatar, Southgate asked the technical department to equip a special net in the middle of the goal during training sessions, so that the players could aim at the four "dead" corners. This exercise is designed to help those assigned to kick 11m get used to, and only target very difficult positions, making the opponent's goalkeeper unstoppable.

England only practiced kicking 11m in front of this special net, without the need for goalkeepers to participate.

"The goalkeepers can predict the direction of the teammate's shots when practicing the 11m kick every day. If we catch a lot of the 11m kicks, the teammates can get worried. So they are just improving technically. . Anyone can take a penalty. It's just that we can't put as much pressure as we do in official matches," explained goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

When attending the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Southgate also focused on penalty kick exercises. The England coach also appointed an assistant specializing in penalties Allan Russell and psychologist Pippa Grange before the tournament in Russia. That careful preparation paid off when England defeated Colombia in a penalty shootout in the 1/8 round.

It was also the first time England won by penalty kick in the World Cup. Before that, the "Three Lions" all failed when they had to enter this series of brains against West Germany in the semi-finals in 1990, Argentina in the 1/8 round of 1998 and Portugal in the quarterfinals in 2006.

However, after the tournament in Russia, Russell and Grange were no longer part of the British coaching staff. At Euro 2021, the "Three Lions" lost to Italy 2-3 in the final in front of the home audience at Wembley, when Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka failed to kick.

Going further, England have only won 2 out of 9 penalty shootouts at major tournaments. Apart from the match against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, the other exception came before Spain at Euro 1996.

At the 2022 World Cup, England topped Group B with an unbeaten record, beating Iran 6-2, Wales 3-0, drawing the US 0-0, and will meet Senegal in the 1/8 round today. If they win, Southgate's teachers and students will meet the winner of the France - Poland pair in the quarterfinals.