World Cup Penalty Shoot Out
England captain David Beckham is the England football team's most trusted penalty scorer, according to new research from Ipsos. The survey, from the company's i:omnibus service, asked who should take a win-or-lose last penalty in a World Cup final penalty shoot-out.
"Golden boots" Beckham top for penalty shoot-out
England skipper considered a safe pair of feet for World Cup final
England captain David Beckham is the England football team's most trusted penalty scorer, according to new research from Ipsos. The survey, from the company's i:omnibus service, asked who should take a win-or-lose last penalty in a World Cup final penalty shoot-out.
Beckham comes top with 25%, followed by Steven Gerrard (15%) and Wayne Rooney (12%). However, the picture is different when we look at the views of "avid fans" (those who watch every World Cup match). They prefer Gerrard (27%) to Beckham (21%).
Manchester United fans clearly retain some affection for David Beckham -- 43% of them say he would be the top choice. Liverpool fans, on the other hand, strongly back Gerrard (56%). And six per cent of our sample say they "don't mind who takes it as long as they miss" -- all these people come from Wales and Scotland.
Peter Hasler, who heads Ipsos's Sport Research team, says: "As all football fans in this country are well aware, England haven't got the best of records in major tournament penalty shoot-outs. Much as the nation might want to avoid another round of nerve-wracking penalties, if it came down to it, the would be England managers around the country would most like to see the captain, David Beckham, stepping-up to take the all-important kick."
"This said, he has not received overwhelming support and keen supporters are not so sure. This is a reflection that unlike in previous years (for example, with Lineker and Shearer) England does not currently possess a strong first choice penalty taker."
Technical details
All research was carried out on the i:omnibus service offering. Results are nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 16-64 who access the Internet at least once a week in GB. Fieldwork conducted between 6th-12th June 2006. Rim weighting was applied to get the 'best fit' in terms of sex, age, region, social grade and working status.
The Ipsos i:omnibus team offer the fastest turnaround possible for international research and in the past year alone has been used for research on topics as diverse as soft drinks, mobile phones, movies, education and pet food. For more information on i:omnibus email Tony Harper or phone: +44 (0)20 8861 8084.
