Soccer is a popular sport with a global following; it is a national sport played by many players affiliated with sports clubs worldwide. Therefore, the current study aims to develop a model based on body posture and kinematic indicators for both goalkeepers and penalty kickers. A descriptive and analytical method was utilized to analyze the videos sourced from the official websites of the International Federation of Association (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) between 2020 and 2024. Accordingly, the researchers analyzed 142 penalty kicks and shootouts using Kinovea software. To meet the study's objectives, SPSS version 26 was used to calculate the study variables' values, including the direction of the supporting foot, the kicker's torso direction, and the kicker's head direction, all assessed at a 95% confidence level. The findings indicated that in 89.44% of penalty kicks, the supporting foot's direction and the ball's trajectory after kicking aligned, whereas 10.56% showed directional incompatibility. Similarly, compatibility between the kicker's torso direction and the ball's trajectory occurred in 49.29% of the analyzed penalties and penalty shootouts. Additionally, 33.80% of penalty kicks demonstrated directional compatibility between the kicker's head direction and the ball's trajectory. Based on these results, the predictive model developed emphasizes the supporting foot direction as the primary indicator, followed by the kicker's torso direction and then the kicker's head direction. Scientific studies should continue to be conducted to uncover additional indicators for improving goalkeepers' performance in saving penalty kicks and shootouts, while accounting for differences across samples, such as females and juniors. Keywords: Analysis, Ball, Biomechanics, Kinovea, Soccer
 

Title

Journal of Physical Education and Sport

Publisher

Editura Universitatii din Pitesti

Publisher Country

Romania

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

3.2

Publication Type

Prtinted only

Volume

25

Year

2025

Pages

6