The science of soccer: Why kicking second in a penalty shootout could cost a team the World Cup

University of Queensland Professor Robbie Wilson joined Ben Davis on 4BC Breakfast to discuss how wildlife biology mathematics is used to analyse every single penalty shootout in World Cup and Euro history, discovering that crucial psychological shifts drastically affect success rates. His data shows that the order of shooters must completely flip depending on whether a team kicks first or second, yet conservative global soccer academies are notoriously resistant to adopting this groundbreaking strategy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 30, 2026

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The science of soccer: Why kicking second in a penalty shootout could cost a team the World Cup

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