A FOOTBALL psychology expert claims to have discovered why Harry Kane buried his first penalty against France - but skied the second one over.<br /><br />Professor Geir Jordet from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences has offered his unique insight as to why Kane missed his second spot kick.<br /><br />And it has all to do with the "support" Kane got from his team-mates ahead of both spot kicks.<br /><br />Posting his hypothesis in a fascinating thread on Twitter, Jordet explained the protection the record Three Lions scorer received from Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson was pivotal in the outcome of the penalties.<br /><br />He explained: "One of England's players is world-leading in supporting team-mate penalty takers.<br /><br />"Jordan Henderson has successfully protected Liverpool’s penalty takers for years, making sure opponents don’t get access to play mind games in those last crucial seconds leading up to the kick.<br /><br />"For Kane’s first penalty vs France, Henderson did what he does best. First, he called for and grabbed the ball early.<br /><br />"Then handed it over to Kane while essentially escorting him to the penalty area, making sure no French players could get access to Kane for a 'last word'.<br /><br />"For the 2nd penalty, Henderson had literally just been substituted off and could not assume his normal supportive role.<br /><br />"For the first 30 sec after the VAR decision, Harry Kane was alone, with only France players around. Not necessarily a problem, but it leaves him vulnerable.<br /><br />"Kane's team-mates saw this & stepped up. First Mason Mount, then Jude Bellingham (after Stones pointed out a need). Bellingham ended up escorting Giroud out of the penalty area.<br /><br />"All good, but was this too reactive & too late? And did it even add noise rather than take it away?<br /><br />"Kane missed the penalty & England's hope vanished. Interesting that the first players to emerge around Harry Kane after the miss were all French.<br /><br />"Almost the entire French team swarmed around Lloris (and Kane) in joy and excitement, with not a single England player in sight."<br /><br />He went on to praise 19-year-old Bellingham, who was the first to console Kane after his miss.<br /><br />After the game, Henderson stayed alongside Kane, with Jordet concluding: "Being a team-mate is about being there for the ones who need you the most."<br /><br />Jordet has previously spoken to SunSport regarding penalty psychology.<br /><br />Following Chelsea's club World Cup victory over Palmeiras - which saw Kai Havertz score a late penalty - he said Cesar Azpilicueta acting as a human shield was important in allowing Havertz to convert his spot kick.<br /><br />He said: "With VAR, the psychology of penalty kicks has become incredibly important.<br /><br />"The best teams in 2022 are the ones who play the psychological game better than others."<br /><br />James Maddison and Emiliano Martinez have previously been great examples when it comes to psyching out their opponents before penalty kicks.<br /><br />Martinez in particular seems to have this down to a tee, and has produced some massive penalty saves in recent years including a pair
