In the recent years quite a few papers have been dedicated to the study of penalty kicks in soccer. With either the intent of predicting the direction or the final outcome of the kick, several different factors have been analyzed, from kinematics, biomechanics, stress levels, individual skills and fatigue as just some examples. In this paper, the author studies a group of four different international soccer players with the objective of identifying key performance indicators on kicks from the penalty spot. Using data analysis techniques, with emphasis on Cramer’s V correlation and hypothesis testing, several variables are analyzed, with the intent of identifying global and individual factors, that might provide a a signal foe which side of the goal post the penalty kick will be aimed at. This study’s primary objective is then to provide the goalkeeper with some attributable information that can be used in his advantage, to predict the side for where the penalty is more likely to be aimed at.
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