Latest news with #AitanaBonmatí
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
England's Women's Euro 2025 penalty hero Hannah Hampton defies eye condition with study and strategy
Hannah Hampton had already saved one penalty in the shootout against Spain at Euro 2025 when Aitana Bonmatí, the back-to-back winner of the women's Ballon d'Or, placed the ball on the spot and stepped back, taking a moment before the strike. Bonmatí thumped the ball hard and left, but Hampton was there, arms outstretched, to block the shot with both hands. 'Better pens than the last time, let's be honest!' Hampton said after the match, a reference to the more painful shootout against Sweden in the quarter-final that went to sudden death before England prevailed. Hampton saved two penalties that time, too. It was an extraordinary tournament for Hampton, the Chelsea player who only became England's first choice goalie in May after the retirement of Mary Earps from international football. Hampton's penalty-saving record is perhaps even more impressive given that doctors told her that, due to an eye condition, she wouldn't be able to play football. Hampton was born with strabismus, or a squint, meaning that when she was looking at an object with one eye, the other would be looking in another direction. It was severe enough that she had three operations by the age of three to correct the misalignment. The surgery was not a complete success: Hampton told the i paper in 2022 how she would try to pour juice into a glass and miss if she wasn't holding it. During a medical check-up at Stoke City, when Hampton was 12, doctors diagnosed another problem. She had impaired depth perception, meaning she struggles to tell how far away objects are. It is often seen in patients with strabismus. 'Depth perception requires our eyes to be aligned, really from birth, and also for the visual input from the two eyes to be equal,' says Prof Jugnoo Rahi, an ophthalmic epidemiologist at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. If children have misaligned eyes, the brain suppresses the input from one eye because the brain cannot cope with double vision. 'If that goes on for a long time, if you can't align the eyes through surgery, for example, then you get permanently reduced vision in one eye,' she adds. But children who have limited depth perception grow up using other cues, the most obvious being that objects appear smaller when further away. It's often the finer perception tasks that are most affected – threading a needle more than intercepting a speeding football. 'People do learn,' Rahi says, 'And I suspect if you're also particularly talented and your hand-eye coordination is good, you may be better able to overcome that.' From Stoke City to Aston Villa and Chelsea, Hampton has certainly learned. After countless bloody noses and broken fingers from stopping the ball too near her face, or having her hands in the wrong position, she made a conscious effort to alter her hand position. It hasn't stopped all the blood: in extra time against Sweden, a collision left her with absorbent tissue up her right nostril. Hampton might be compensating in other ways, too. Setting aside the notes she had taped to her arm before the shootout with Spain – evidence she had done her homework – Hampton might be finely attuned to the subtle cues penalty takers reveal. And given the fraction of a second a goalie has to respond once the ball is kicked, these might be more important than depth perception. In his book, The Penalty Kick: the psychology of success, Prof Daniel Memmert at the German Sport University in Cologne dissects the science of the art. Body movement is particularly revealing, he says. When a right-footed striker aims for the left corner, the supporting leg, hip and upper body all start to rotate to the left. If the goalie is looking, 'they can anticipate the direction of the penalty', he says. 'It's extremely difficult not to move the limbs like this if you are going for the left corner, and good goalies have this picture.' Often, such cues are picked up subconsciously, he adds. And then there are the tricks goalies can play. When goalies make themselves big – throwing their arms out in a Y-shape – strikers tend to shoot closer to the goalie. But it's not the only tactic. 'One of the most important factors is that you make the striker feel that one of the corners has a little more space,' says Memmert. If the goalie stands slightly off centre – no more than 10cm left or right – a penalty taker who is still making up their mind will often shoot to the side with slightly more room. Even if they cannot perceive the extra space. If a goalie knows a striker favours one side, making a little more room can nudge them more in that direction, giving the goalie an advantage. 'It's the best trick a goalie can do because the striker will never know if the goalie is standing exactly in the middle or not,' says Memmert.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aitana Bonmatí on Spain's first win vs Germany and first Euros final
Aitana Bonmatí commented Spain's new achievements. The Spanish women national team's victory over Germany in the Women's Euro 2025 semi-finals marks the first time that La Roja have defeated DFB-Frauenteam and also their first Euros final in history.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Euro 2025: England goalie Hampton's fairy-tale journey from eye surgeries to penalty shootout star
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — The remarkable journey of England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton from eye surgeries to being the star of two penalty shootouts for a European title-winning team was described as 'a fairy tale' on Sunday. Player of the match Hampton saved a penalty shootout spot kick by Spain's two-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí in a dramatic final. Before that, she saved the penalty by Mariona Caldentey, whose 25th-minute header did beat Hampton and had left defending champion England playing catchup yet again at Euro 2025. But this England, like its 24-year-old goalkeeper with the sub-optimal eyesight, thrives on adversity — especially on a thrilling ride through three knockout rounds where the team led for just five minutes in total. England retained its Women's European Championship title by beating world champion Spain 3-1 in the shootout needed when the teams were tied 1-1 after extra time. 'In 120 minutes, the team ran around and worked so hard for us all, so the penalty shootout was my moment to say thank you for putting in all the hard work and effort they did throughout,' Hampton said in a post-game interview with UEFA. When Chloe Kelly scored the decisive spot kick, her teammate who had let just one of four Spain penalties beat her actually did not know what was happening. 'I'd completely lost track of what was going on by the time Chloe stepped up,' Hampton revealed later. 'As soon as I saw her run off (celebrating), I thought: 'That's it, we've won'. I can't believe it.' No limits It was the latest inspiring win in Hampton's fast-rising career that never seemed possible when she was younger and diagnosed with an eye condition that affects depth perception. She has had multiple surgeries and her vision is still not ideal. 'It just highlights you can never let people tell you what you can and can't do,' the England goalkeeper said. Hampton's month in Switzerland has earned her place in England's soccer lore. In a stunning win over Sweden in the quarterfinals – after another shootout earned by a late rally to draw 2-2 – Hampton had two more spot-kick saves and let only two of the seven beat her. 'Her journey has been incredible,' England coach Sarina Wiegman said. 'It's a little bit like a fairy tale to stop those penalties in a Euros final.' England has another stellar goalkeeper to follow Mary Earps, the star of the Euro 2022 title team and the run to the final of the 2023 World Cup final — won by Spain. 'Special moment' Earps choosing to retire from the England scene five weeks before this tournament was a surprise — and was criticized by some observers — and put more pressure on the goalkeepers replacing her. Hampton has proven her No. 1 status beyond any doubt. 'If you have a dream and you really believe in that dream, then go and do it,' she said. 'I've done that and, right now, being sat with the trophy and the medal, it's a special moment.' ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Euro 2025: Bonmatí says Spain being 'the best team of the tournament' wasn't enough to win trophy
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Being the most skillful and technically best team at the Women's European Championship wasn't enough to get Spain the title on Sunday. The 2023 World Cup winner and 2024 UEFA Nations League title holder still does not have a European title for its stellar generation after a penalty shootout loss to England in the final after a 1-1 draw after extra time. Spain trailed for just four minutes' play across six games in the entire tournament. England led for barely five minutes' play in its three knockout rounds games – and none against Spain. 'We were the best team of the tournament, but sometimes that's not enough,' Spain star Aitana Bonmatí said. Bonmatí cut a sad figure walking to the trophy ceremony platform to collect her trophy as the best player of the tournament, which she began days after being hospitalized with a bout of viral meningitis. Bonmatí's spot kick in the shootout was one of two saved by England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. Mariona Caldentey, whose 25th-minute headed goal seemed to set Spain on track for victory, also had her penalty saved. Caldentey also went close to scoring a second time in the first half, in which tournament top scorer Esther Gonzalez had three chances to score. Early in the second half, Caldentey's Arsenal teammates Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo combined to level the score on Russo's header. 'I'm a bit in shock,' Bonmatí said. 'It was cruel. We played better, created more scoring chances, but in soccer sometimes that's not enough. It all came down to the penalties.' 'I'm sorry for my miss,' said two-time Ballon d'Or winner Bonmatí, whose teammates Caldentey and Alexia Putellas also failed from the spot in a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Switzerland. 'I think this team deserved more. At least not living with this bitter feeling,' Spain coach Montse Tomé said in translated comments. Spain captain Irene Paredes said it was 'hard to look for the positives so soon. Right now, it's a very tough moment.' 'England were happy just to reach penalties but, in the shootout, we didn't perform well,' said Paredes, whose Barcelona team also lost the Women's Champions League final in May to an English opponent, Arsenal. 'To be a champion you need some luck, and I believe they had it.' Spain still is a world champion and will soon prepare to start qualifying for the defense of its title. The 2027 World Cup is being played in Brazil. 'We will be back,' Bonmatí said. 'There will be a World Cup in a couple of years, and that's our goal now. This is a golden generation, with a lot of young players.' ___ AP soccer:
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Euro 2025: Bonmatí says Spain being 'the best team of the tournament' wasn't enough to win trophy
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Being the most skillful and technically best team at the Women's European Championship wasn't enough to get Spain the title on Sunday. The 2023 World Cup winner and 2024 UEFA Nations League title holder still does not have a European title for its stellar generation after a penalty shootout loss to England in the final after a 1-1 draw after extra time. Spain trailed for just four minutes' play across six games in the entire tournament. England led for barely five minutes' play in its three knockout rounds games – and none against Spain. 'We were the best team of the tournament, but sometimes that's not enough,' Spain star Aitana Bonmatí said. Bonmatí cut a sad figure walking to the trophy ceremony platform to collect her trophy as the best player of the tournament, which she began days after being hospitalized with a bout of viral meningitis. Bonmatí's spot kick in the shootout was one of two saved by England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. Mariona Caldentey, whose 25th-minute headed goal seemed to set Spain on track for victory, also had her penalty saved. Caldentey also went close to scoring a second time in the first half, in which tournament top scorer Esther Gonzalez had three chances to score. Early in the second half, Caldentey's Arsenal teammates Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo combined to level the score on Russo's header. 'I'm a bit in shock,' Bonmatí said. 'It was cruel. We played better, created more scoring chances, but in soccer sometimes that's not enough. It all came down to the penalties.' 'I'm sorry for my miss,' said two-time Ballon d'Or winner Bonmatí, whose teammates Caldentey and Alexia Putellas also failed from the spot in a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Switzerland. 'I think this team deserved more. At least not living with this bitter feeling,' Spain coach Montse Tomé said in translated comments. Spain captain Irene Paredes said it was 'hard to look for the positives so soon. Right now, it's a very tough moment.' 'England were happy just to reach penalties but, in the shootout, we didn't perform well,' said Paredes, whose Barcelona team also lost the Women's Champions League final in May to an English opponent, Arsenal. 'To be a champion you need some luck, and I believe they had it.' Spain still is a world champion and will soon prepare to start qualifying for the defense of its title. The 2027 World Cup is being played in Brazil. 'We will be back,' Bonmatí said. 'There will be a World Cup in a couple of years, and that's our goal now. This is a golden generation, with a lot of young players.' ___ AP soccer:
