David Seaman sends England ‘hardest’ penalty warning after Harry Kane stutter gamble
England goalkeeping legend David Seaman has opened up about the most difficult type of penalty to save – when asked about Harry Kane’s controversial stuttering run-up style.
The Three Lions’ captain was given a second chance from the spot during England’s opening World Cup clash with Croatia after his initial effort was batted away by Dominik Livakovic. During that run-up, Kane had halted his approach with a stuttering run, allowing Livakovic to get down and make the save.
However, after there was deemed to be encroachment by one defender and Livakovic found to have stepped off his line, Kane redeemed himself by lashing the ball into the back of the net. Many fans felt Kane had got away with one, after emulating a technique which also backfired on his England team-mate Eberechi Eze when he missed a vital spot kick in Arsenal’s penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions Leagu final.
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“I never found it particularly difficult to stay on my line because you know different penalty takers have different techniques,” Seaman told Daily Star Sport .
“The amount of analysis that goes into penalties now is incredible. Every penalty a player has ever taken is available to watch. Everyone knows Harry has several different types of penalties, and that’s one of the reasons he’s so successful.
“He’s probably scored plenty with that stuttering run-up in the Bundesliga. He missed the first one, then immediately changed his approach for the retake.
“The second penalty actually went into almost the same area, but the goalkeeper went the other way. To be honest, it wasn’t a brilliant penalty. If the goalkeeper dives the right way, he probably saves it!”
Another former England stopper, Joe Hart, praised Kane’s approach, saying the Bayern Munich striker had started doing the stutter as a “ploy” so goalkeepers don’t know whether to dive straight away or to hold their ground. He said the first penalty was “poor”, but Kane had baited Livakovic, then slotted it away with no stutter.
Kane, meanwhile, said he knew from watching videos that if he did a stutter there was a good chance Livakovic – who likes to move early on penalties – would come off the line. He said: “These are all reasons why I do the research. And in the end, obviously, it worked out nicely for me.”
However, when asked if the small stutter can throw off a keeper, Seaman said: “Not really. If you know it’s coming, you can wait.
“The penalty takers who are hardest to face are the ones who almost stop completely. They stand there looking at you, waiting for you to commit first before calmly passing the ball into the opposite corner.
“They’re the most difficult because they’re reacting to what you’re doing. As a goalkeeper, though, penalties are one of the best moments in football because you’ve got a real chance to become the hero!”
England and penalties haven’t really mixed until recent years – however, the Three Lions have won three of their last four shoot-outs in major tournaments.
That one loss coming during the 2020 Euros final against Italy. However, in the World Cup, it makes for grim reading. England have won just one of the four times their games have gone to penalties.
Jordan Pickford was between the sticks for that match, stopping Carlos Bacca and Mateus Uribe from the spot. “I hope he doesn’t have much to do because that means England are playing well,” Seaman joked.
The Arsenal legend said: “Jordan has been outstanding for England. He’s got more than 80 caps now and I’d imagine he’ll go on to reach 100 because his standards have stayed incredibly high.
“It’s not just with England either. He’s been excellent for Everton over the last few seasons. He almost kept them in the Premier League on his own a couple of years ago with some incredible saves.
“With England he’s reached two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final. It’s been a really good period.
“Now it’s about taking that next step and actually winning something. That’s my one regret with England – I never won a major tournament.
“I was fortunate enough to win plenty of trophies with Arsenal, and there’s no feeling quite like it. But winning something with England would be on a completely different level.
“As a former player, I’d love to be there when that finally happens because it would be an incredible celebration!”
