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Chloe Kelly's penalty for England against Nigeria in the shootout in the round of 16 of the Women's World Cup has been hailed as a perfect example of a spot kick.
It has also been clocked as being hit harder than any goal scored in the English Premier League last season and has been celebrated in many quarters.
With the U.S. Women's National Team being dumped from the Women's World Cup by Sweden, European champion England is now the favorite to lift the trophy.
Kelly said she felt confident in her penalty-taking abilities and believed she would score despite the pressure she was facing.
"For me, [my mentality] is, 'I'm going to score'—that is how I look at it. Once I win that mental battle, we are good. We have been practicing [penalties] a lot actually and it has been working.
"It's amazing. Anything that is thrown at us, we show what we are capable of. We dig deep as a group and we believe in our ability and in what we are told to do. This team is special. We did it in the Euros and the Finalissima and we keep pushing forward. There is more to come from this team."
The Claim
It has been reported that Kelly struck the ball harder than any goal scored at the FIFA Women's World Cup so far and that it was actually harder than any goal scored during the 2022/23 season of the English Premier League.
The Facts
Kelly's game-winning penalty was the fastest shot recorded at the FIFA Women's World Cup at 110.79 km/h (69 mph). The shot was measured by Connected Ball Technology, which features inside the adidas Oceaunz official match ball.
The most powerful Premier League goal last season was 107.2km/h from Saïd Benrahma of West Ham United against Crystal Palace. That shot's speed was calculated by Oracle.
The Ruling
Needs Context.
There are a few factors that need to be considered when declaring that Kelly's strike was harder than any in the EPL last season.
The goal scored by Benrahma was measured as an average speed on its journey to the back of the net.
His hit was from outside the penalty area so would be further than 18 yards from goal, so it had farther to travel than Kelly's shot from the penalty spot, which is 12 yards out.
But as there is no statistical data measuring these particular outcomes, it has to be taken that Kelly's shot was harder.
FACT CHECK BY James Brinsford
