Market Under The Microscope / Alsy / 04 June 2008 / Leave a comment

Morgan in the driving seat - Allsy recalls Gareth Southgate's penalty heartbreak in 1996 and Vassell and Beckham also missing from the spot eight years later. But which other big names have also folded under pressure and what are the chances of a shootout this summer?

Penalty shoot-outs seem to be a fixture of many key finals in recent memory. Everyone remembers Zidane's head butt in the last World Cup final but few people can recall the particulars of how Italy beat France 5-3 in an extra time penalty shoot-out.

50% of the last four FA Cup and Champions League finals have also been decided by penalties so we're used all to trophies being decided after regulation time.

England have their own infamous history when it comes to penalties... basically we're crap at them! Not matter how much preparation is undertaken few self-respecting Englishman would bet a single pint on England beating any team in a penalty shoot-out.

England's last Euro nightmare is still fresh in the mind. 2004 in Lisbon, England and Portugal are tied 2-2 after extra time in quarter-final and I'm still wondering why Sol Campbell's goal was disallowed. Half an hour or so later Beckham and Vassell have failed to score and it's all over 6-5 to Portugal. With Euro '08 about to start, at least England fans have the small comfort of knowing that they will not experience torture from 12 yards this summer.

Football purists will be pleased to know that penalty shootouts are rarely needed in this tournament - only one final has been decided by penalties to date. In 1976 Czechoslovakia won their first European title beating West Germany 5-3 on penalties (2-2 aet) in Yugoslavia.

Before 1980 only four teams qualified for the European Championships reducing the chances of a stalemate occurring. After 1980 the number increased to eight before the current model of 16 teams was adopted in 1996 when football "came home" to England.

The expanded competition seemed to provide a fertile ground for penalty shoot-outs with a record number occurring. It's a cosmic joke that the country you'd always back to lose in a shoot-out should host a record for the most penalty shoot-outs!

In the 1996 knockout stages a record four games out of seven were decided by shoot-outs. The number might have been even higher if Uefa had not decided that the final, (between Czech Republic and Germany), should be played under the "Golden Goal" rule.

In a quick study of European Championship shoot-outs there's never been a tournament like Euro '96, which inevitably ensures that England remain at the centre of Euro penalty folklore. It all started so well in the knockout stages as England seemed to banish the ghosts of penalty heartbreak in the 1990 World Cup semi-final against Germany.

In Euro 96 England faced Spain in the quarter-finals and faced a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw. Stuart Pearce and co did the business and then only Germany stood between England and a Euro final on home soil.

We know that Venables had his team practised penalties and it showed as Shearer, Platt, Pearce, Gascoigne and Sheringham all scored when the game finished 1-1. Unfortunately the Germans didn't miss either but eventually Southgate did and Möller didn't.

So this year how do teams prepare for the possibility of penalties? Every team practises but, as illustrated in the recent Champions League final, pressure can nullify preparation all too easily.

History shows that experienced teams like Italy and Germany often do well in penalty shoot-outs but there's little rhyme or reason as to how to win. Even dead-ball specialists like Baggio, Beckham and Ronaldo can miss penalty kicks on the biggest stage of all.

There's no golden or silver goal this year and you can back a penalty shoot-out taking place during the Euros at [1.31]. You can get [4.2] if you want to back no penalty shoot-out... considering the track record of this tournament I'd definitely take that price. I believe that a winning goal will be scored in either regulation on or extra time. Hopefully 1976 will long remain the only penalty shoot-out win in this particular tournament.

Tags: Euro 2008 bets, Euro 2008 penalty shootout, Gareth Southgate