S8 EP1: Gary Lineker on England’s losing streak, leaving the BBC, and his frosty relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo

Where this was said

Gary Lineker on Nerves, Penalties and His First England Spot-Kick

At 11:00 · chapter starts 10:40

Theroux presses Lineker on his famously calm demeanour, asking whether butterflies are truly absent for him. Lineker confirms that nerves only strike him as a spectator — watching Rory McIlroy win the Masters, watching Leicester chase the 2016 title — never when performing himself. He attributes this partly to being what he describes as 'almost cold' as a young man: very focused, very driven, emotionally cut off. He then delivers an extraordinary penalty story: he was named England's taker in Mexico 1986 but never received one, and by the 1990 quarter-final against Cameroon had gone four years without taking a spot-kick for England. His first one arrived when England were 2-1 down with 8 minutes left. The key detail: he'd practised so obsessively that he hit it exactly where he'd planned. The second penalty, in extra time, was improvised — he smacked it down the middle because the keeper had moved early on the first. ^{[1] — Gary Lineker "Lineker's first England penalty — World Cup quarterfinal vs Cameroon: Lineker's first-ever penalty for England came when England were 2-1 d…" 09:15 Play}