Soccer - Happiness, Heartbreak, and the World Cup

A penalty shootout plays a major role in Keeper by Mal Peet, not only in the games, but in the Keepers instruction to El Gato. Here are two examples of penalty shootouts. Watch for things El Gato mentions. Do the shooters look at the keepers? Who looks more nervous? Who has more pressure? Look at the emotions displayed by shooters and keepers when shots are made, missed, or saved.

Remember, shootouts only come after two 45-minutes periods and two 15-minute overtime periods. That's 2 full hours of soccer. These players are physically and mentally exhausted, playing for the greatest trophy in the world, and they know that there are billions of people watching their every move.

And they are all playing for this:

The World Cup Trophy

The Women's World Cup Trophy

And here is another spectacular shootout, but I was unable to embed the video in this post. But it's worth watching.

CLICK HERE