Source: FOOTYMAD
Lampard: We should be more German
Frank Lampard has warned England need to take a more German approach to penalty shootouts if they are to avoid the familiar sight of a player ballooning the ball over the bar during the knockout stages of this summers World Cup. Frank Lampard has warned England need to take a more positive approach to penalty shootouts if they are to avoid the familiar sight of a player ballooning the ball over the bar during the knockout stages of this summers World Cup. The so-called lottery of a shootout appears to have emotionally scarred the entire country, with a fear clear on the faces of players as they step up if a knockout tie has finished level after extra-time. “I think it has become a bit of an issue in the mind,” Lampard told GQ Sport magazine. “No matter how well we have played in a match, when it comes down to penalties, you think: ‘Oh s*** here we go again’. Once you’ve got that mindset, it is hard to get out of it. “That’s why the Germans are so good at it. They get to penalties and they have a confidence, an arrogance I suppose that they are going to win. England need more of that self-belief.” The so-called lottery of a shootout appears to have emotionally scarred the entire country, with a fear clear on the faces of players as they step up if a knockout tie has finished level after extra-time. Lampard suggested the Three Lions could learn from the attitude of Germany, so often England's conquerers in spot-kicks. “I think it has become a bit of an issue in the mind,” Lampard told GQ Sport magazine. “No matter how well we have played in a match, when it comes down to penalties, you think: ‘Oh s*** here we go again’. Once you’ve got that mindset, it is hard to get out of it. “That’s why the Germans are so good at it. They get to penalties and they have a confidence, an arrogance I suppose that they are going to win. England need more of that self-belief.”
