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The 32: Andrew Cole's penalty conundrum - 12 yards is too far for me

What makes a good penalty taker?

Andrew Cole might be the third-highest goal scorer in Premier League history, but he only took two penalties during his career, scoring one of them, and admits he has no idea.

The introduction of VAR has seen the amount of penalties awarded rise at this tournament and the role of the penalty taker gain more importance.

Andrew Cole made light of his poor penalty record, despite scoring 187 Premier League goals
Andrew Cole made light of his poor penalty record, despite scoring 187 Premier League goals

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Cole appeared as the guest on the latest episode of ‘The 32′, Yahoo Sport’s daily World Cup show, and the poacher joked that ’12 yards is a long way’, as well as admitting he isn’t sure what makes a good one.

“I don’t know because I wasn’t very good at them,” he said. “To be a good penalty taker, to be brutally honest with you, I don’t even know. I never saw penalties as part of my armoury.

“Confidence! [Miles] Jedinak has never missed a penalty for Australia and you can see why – because he’s very confident. It’s a massive thing.

Miles Jedinak has scored penalties in both of Australia’s game – and has never missed one for his country
Miles Jedinak has scored penalties in both of Australia’s game – and has never missed one for his country

“If you hit the target you have a chance of scoring. It’s a 50/50, it’s like a lottery and some go in, some do not.

“Ronaldo: is he a good penalty taker? He seems to score more than he misses. I think Messi is the best player in the world but I don’t think he is a very good penalty taker. I don’t know what makes it.”