According to “king of physics” Stephen Hawking, the perfect penalty kick is in the top corner of the goal. But he also caused confusion when he said bald players have a higher chance of scoring.
So far, the 2018 World Cup has seen 4 matches that must be decided on penalties – Russia eliminated Spain, Croatia won against Denmark, England forced Colombia to return home and then Croatia forced the Russian team to return home. stop in the quarterfinals.
Going back in time, in 2014, the world famous physicist Stephen Hawking – the father of Black Hole theory and author of the book A Brief History of Time, came up with a theory on how to take the perfect penalty. by order of British betting company Paddy Power.
Harry Kane’s penalty kick in England vs Panama – (Image: AFP).
His research on shots on the 11m spot has shown that:
Shot velocity is the “key”
Hawking says that a strong shot makes the ball go faster and the goalkeeper will have almost no chance to block.
The physicist also advises to “put” the ball into the top corner of the goal to get the most success.
Hawking’s research shows that 84% of penalty shots aimed at the top corner of the goal are successful.
The clearest evidence at the 2018 World Cup is the two penalty shots of Harry Kane – England’s striker – in the match against Panama.
Both shots have very good ball speed and hit the ball straight into the top corner of the goal.
In such shots, it is difficult for the goalkeeper to guess the direction of the ball and only help “the goal is better”.
Strikers are better at taking penalties than other positions
According to scientist Hawking, strikers have a higher success rate (81%) when facing a penalty kick, compared to midfielders and defenders.
There is no advantage in kicking the ball with left or right foot
However, it is better if a player uses the soles of the feet to take the shot. The odds of winning will be 10% higher than with instep shots.
Blond or bald players are more likely to win
Hawking was unable to come up with a scientific explanation for this. But his analysis shows that players with blonde hair or baldness have a higher success rate when standing in front of the 11m mark than their dark-haired counterparts.
The reason for this is not clear and it is still considered one of the great mysteries of science.