The FFF looks at the French problem of penalties

This has been a recurring problem for French teams, often proving costly. Failures during the penalty shootout have increased in recent years: Didier Deschamps’ Blues against Switzerland in the round of 16 of Euro 2020 (3-3, 4-5 on the tab) and in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina (3-3, 2- on the tab) 4), women in the quarter-finals of the last World Cup (2023) against Australia (0-0, 6-7 on the tab) ), without forgetting the U17 during the Euros and the World Cup final.

At the end of this latest disappointment, Hubert Fournier, the national technical director, announced future steps. He made his clarifications on RMC Sport this Friday, revealing the global strategy, which must be put in place in March. The main actor of which should be the coach. “He is the one responsible and everything starts from him, he said.

Both setup to prepare players, weeks or days before a potential penalty shootout. He has to provide them with a view while doing as much as possible to contextualize the penalty shootout. And then he has to offer them various exercises that will allow them to develop personal confidence in the shooters. And then it will be necessary to prepare for the match in the same way, the real strategy connected with this specificity which is shooting at the goal. »

Shooters’ order, goalkeeping and impact strategies towards opponents: a global reflection

To do this, the management of emotions between the end of the meeting and the beginning of the session must be considered. “A coach wants to instill confidence in his players and his group, Fournier explains. Having very clear ideas, know with your staff who is doing what during this period. We calculated that there was five to six minutes between the referee’s whistle and the first shooter. »

And players naturally have to get involved: “We also insist on the fact that this concerns eleven players. There will be no escape “Ah well, I’m a little…” Or “No, I don’t think so…”, because we can clearly see that for the girls, we reached the end and everyone was forced to shoot. »

Without forgetting that “Another thing is to select the players who shoot first, second, third, fourth… We understand that some want to be the savior of the hometown by shooting fifth, but 20% of the penalty shootout ends before the shootout. So we target the three and four positions instead, which are probably the key players who are able to take these shots on target. »

Finally, Hubert Fournier has not forgotten the role of the goalkeeper: “There is also a lot to do with the goalkeepers who are also a crucial element in the success of shots on goal. There is also a strategy to arrange with the goalkeeper coach so that they also have knowledge about the shooters to build confidence, and then a strategy to influence the opponent. »