The manner of their loss will only come to aid the players
when they suffer the same outcome at major tournaments later in their career.
At the end of a dogged encounter at the Millennium Stadium,
the scores were tied at 4-4 when Daniel Sturridge stepped up to take GB’s final
spot kick. The striker nailed his run-up but could do nothing to prevent
goalkeeper, Lee Bumyoung, parrying the strike.
Sturridge and his GB team-mates looked drained and dejected
on the Cardiff turf, yet penalty shoot-out deflation will not come as a surprise
for these players, but in fact act as a chilling memory for when they suffer
the same fate later on in their international careers.
For the England national side are notoriously appalling at
penalties. In eight shoot-outs, England have won just one, against Spain during
Euro ’96. GB’s current stars will have grown up with England’s recent penalty
heartbreaks: 1998 defeat to Argentina and successive 2004 and 2006 losses to
Portugal.
Indeed, England’s most recent shoot-out failure against
Italy only this summer should have acted as a precursor for last Saturday’s
game. Like Italy, Korea dominated large spells of the match and were guilty of
not winning the tie in normal time. GB just about scraped into the shoot-out,
where they once more fell at the last.
What Pearce’s men can gain from this experience is simply
the knowledge of what it feels like to crash out on penalties the next time it
comes around, a feeling that supporters placing an England or Premier League bet will have experienced before.
Sturridge, along with successful penalty converters, Tom
Cleverley and Craig Dawson, will no-doubt one day be thrown back into this
tortuous situation in England colours. Their experience this summer will do
nothing but strengthen their fear on that long walk to the penalty spot.
The news currently doing the rounds on Betfair is the fact
that Tottenham youngsters, Steven Caulker and Jake Livermore, have been named in an experimental England squad.
