A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Staffordshire during Uefa Euro 2016 found that players that sung their national anthem with more ‘gusto’ pre-match conceded fewer goals during the tournament. The researchers defined ‘gusto’ as more animated signs of facial expressions, body language and of course how loudly they sung the national anthem. The researchers were able to provide conclusions to a few other questions around the pre-match psyche of players. Have a full read of the full sports psychology research here at the Independent.co.uk
