I’ve always thought this would work a large amount of the time- we just saw Croatia do it twice. Ive always been curious about the science/ psychology of the penalty kick and for me the urge for the goalie to dive one side or the other would be too great.
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Statistically, penalties shot at a corner are more likely to go in, since it’s physically difficult for the goalie to get to the corner in time. The real question is why players *do* shoot them down the middle sometimes. Part of the answer is that the opposing goalkeeper (and their coaches) will study your previous penalties before the match. If you always take penalties the same way, this simplifies things for them. If you never shoot down the middle, then they might rule this out as a possibility. But you can second-guess them – if you always go for a corner, you can go for the middle and take them by surprise.
But part of it is to do with nerves, psychology and mind games. If you’re really nervous, you might not feel very confident at being able to place the ball in a corner. And missing entirely can be much more humiliating than having your shot saved. On the other hand, if the goalie fails to save a “bad” penalty, this can be a blow to *their* confidence. After failing to save a Panenka, they might be unwilling to risk diving for the next one.
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