England penalties vs Switzerland analysed: Buddy system, Pickford bottle, crucial pauses

“Watching England’s penalties in their shootout victory over Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-final, it would be tempting to think: why do people always make penalties look so hard. Because the five penalties — by Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold — England took were so good it all looked very easy indeed. But, of course, it wasn’t — as generations of England players and fans will tell you. This was a long way from the failures of the past: this was a team that knew what they were doing, who had planned it all meticulously. It was the successful conclusion to a process that England have had in place for most of Gareth Southgate’s tenure but has been refined over the years. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
NY Times/The Athletic – Euro 2024 day 23: England’s ‘cheat code’ water bottle and can the Netherlands go all the way?