ARLINGTON, TEXAS -- One of the greatest penalty takers of all time and now a Socceroos assistant coach, Mile Jedinak is confident that Australia will be ready should their FIFA World Cup clash with Egypt go to a shootout.
With Australia set to face off with the African powerhouses in Dallas this Friday (Saturday 4 a.m. AEST) in the round of 32, the assistant coach has already watched as two games were decided on penalties: Paraguay stunning Germany in Boston, and Morocco seeing off the Netherlands in Monterrey.
According to Bild, Germany struggled to find a sixth penalty taker, with multiple would-be takers already subbed off and others baulking at the task before Jonathan Tah -- who had never taken a spot kick in his career to that point -- accepted the responsibility, only to fire his attempt over the crossbar.
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Though not known as a goal threat from open play, Jedinak had ice in his veins when he stepped up to the spot: never missing a penalty for club or country and a perfect three from three when asked to convert at World Cups. And now on the Socceroos staff, those lessons are carrying over to possible shootout preparations.
"From a coaching staff perspective, it's the familiarity of it," Jedinak said on preparing players to take penalties. "What does that look like? Are there players who are comfortable in those situations? And how do you get them up to speed in doing so?
"They're the discussions we're having in terms of what that may look like for us. On the day, you can't account for who's going to be on the pitch. You have to understand the makeup of your squad and who could potentially be there; have your list. It's also about who's comfortable and who's a willing taker on the night."
Australia has a largely positive record when it comes to penalties, most recently riding Andrew Redmayne's celebrated "Grey Wiggle" heroics to a shootout win over Peru to secure a spot at the 2022 World Cup.
Though they've never been involved in a shootout at the World Cup itself -- losing to eventual champions Italy and Argentina in their two previous forays to the knockout stages -- the Socceroos, per Transfermarkt, have a record of four wins to one loss in shootouts.
Egypt possess a 46.2% success rate in shootouts, winning six and losing seven. The Pharaohs will enter Friday riding a four-game losing run from spot kicks dating back to their defeat in the final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, where Mohamed Salah could only watch on as Senegal claimed victory before he could shoot.
"It's not straightforward, but I don't think it's that complex either," said Jedinak.
"For me, it was very simple. It was always focused on what I had to do, and what I had to do was put the ball in the back of the net. It was as simple as taking a moment, controlling the situation with the ball, and not trying to focus on anything else. [It was] purely on me, and where I was going to put it, clean contact, strong enough if the goalkeeper goes the right way, that it's going to beat him.
"I was fortunate enough to be able to do it a few times for the country. That's gone now, you pass that knowledge on, and in that moment, you're supporting the lads in whatever they have to do now."
An entire cottage industry of experts has sprung up claiming to have figured out how to win penalty shootouts, boasting various psychological or mathematical models to back them. But the nebulous emotions of spot kicks ensure that it will never be an exact science.
And Ajdin Hrustic, who scored in Eintracht Frankfurt's 2022 shootout win over Rangers to secure a UEFA Europa League and end a 42-year European trophy drought, says he and the team will be ready.
"I'm ready," he said. "The boys look ready, and we'll prepare for every scenario. We'll hope it gets done by 90. If not, 120. If not, then we'll be ready for the penalties. That's the mindset the boys will have, and the staff. And the boss [coach Tony Popovic] decides at the end who's gonna take it."