Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The current World Cup, which is being held in America, Canada and Mexico, has destroyed the unofficial rule that has been used throughout history regarding penalty kicks.
The newspaper said:Brand:“For decades, the prevailing theory of penalty kicks is simple. striking first gives a psychological advantage. A goal first forces the opponent to adjust, and increases the pressure on all their players.
However, the 2026 World Cup dispelled this belief as… Switzerland beat Colombia on penaltiesA remarkable and unexpected trend. In this tournament, the team that shoots second always wins.
In the current match, 4 matches went to penalties and all of them were won by the non-kickers, as Paraguay beat Germany, then it happened again with Morocco against Holland.
As for the third case, Egypt, who qualified for the round of 16 after defeating Australia, struck first, and it happened again in the Switzerland-Colombia match.
This perfect record for this edition confirms a trend. the team that kicks second has won 13 of the last 15 World Cup matches. In other words, 86.7% of the matches ended with the victory of the team that took the second shot, which sharply contradicts the previous belief.
To disprove the rule that firing first is better (at least in the World Series), it is enough to look at history. In the previous 35 matches, the balance was almost perfect, with 17 wins for the team that batted first and 18 for the team that batted second.
There is no definitive explanation for this change. It may just be an unusual occurrence, but it’s also possible that the evolution of players’ psychological preparation has eased the pressure or even changed the feeling of taking a second penalty.
