DAN JAMES will be ready to take a penalty that could be worth £140m to Leeds if the richest game in football today goes down to a penalty shootout.
The Yorkshire-born winger saw his last penalty saved in March, which was decisive as Wales were heartbreakingly eliminated from this summer’s Euros on penalties in the play-off against Poland.
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But James, 26, recovered from that agony with a wonder goal from 45 yards against his boyhood club Hull in April that brought down the house at Elland Road.
And he won’t shy away from the challenge if the Championship play-off final with Southampton goes the distance.
James already managed to score a penalty in the shootout in an important final for Manchester United in the Europa League against Villarreal, which they ended up losing.
He said: “When you take a penalty, you decide where to shoot and you persist.
“You need to be confident and rely on all the tips and tricks you’ve learned over the years.
“But we all also need to be mentally and physically ready after 120 minutes.
“You will be mentally tired, so it is important to relax.
“When I scored the penalty in the Europa League final there were no fans because it was during Covid, so it will be very different with 90,000 people at Wembley on Sunday.
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“Having fans there will not increase the pressure. It will be better because it gives extra motivation.
“Having the penalty saved for Wales was disappointing. There will always be someone who fails and unfortunately that was me that night.
“I was disappointed for the nation because they didn’t get to experience the
Euros this summer. Our fans were unable to go from Wales to Baku, Azerbaijan, for the games between Switzerland and Turkey in 2021 because of Covid, nor Amsterdam for the game with Denmark.
“I have to live with this penalty now and it will always be in my mind, even when I finish football.
“But you go through these things. If I did it again, I wouldn’t be afraid. You have to be mentally prepared in your head? Pick your spot and move on.”
Can Leeds consider themselves unfortunate not to have been automatically promoted after scoring 90 points during the season? thanks to Leicester and Ipswich’s extraordinary campaigns.
But history is on their side, as only Sunderland in 1998 reached 90 points and failed to win promotion.
Although a piece of history won’t help your cause? Leeds has NEVER was promoted through a play-off and this is your SIXTH to try.
Who are these famous football players?
James, who also played at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea in 2020, said: “There’s always a lot of talk about the play-offs and what happened before.
It’s not some extra thing we’re throwing into our heads.
“We see this as an opportunity to win promotion at Wembley, which would be an unbelievable achievement.
“Our mindset is to put everything we can into making this happen – and not walk away from that launch thinking we could have done a little more.
“We have to go into this with energy and confidence.”
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Rival fans love to sing “Leeds Are Falling Apart Again” this time of year to the tune of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart.
The Yorkshire side have lost four of their last six league games, winning just once, allowing Leicester and Ipswich to pull away.
The home defeat to Blackburn and the 4-0 loss to QPR were particularly difficult to take.
Leeds also endured a difficult start to the season while the transfer window was open, with players lining up to jump ship following relegation.
And it was only when the transfer window closed and new signings like Joel Piroe, Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev, Glen
Kamara and Sam Byram managed to resolve that Daniel Farke’s men began traveling by car.
Can you name the famous parents?
- Our dad is a Man Utd legend – we now run our own academy
- My dad is an Arsenal Invincible – and I played with him
- Our dad is the Man Utd Treble winner – now we’re following in his footsteps
- My dad is a legendary coach – and I even dated one of his players
- Our dad won everything for Chelsea – now we’re starring for our country
James said: “After the first five games we were near the bottom. A lot of people doubted us, but we really improved from there.
“We started 2024 in an unbelievable way. We were 17 points behind Leicester at one point and ended up top of the league for a couple of games.
“However, we went through a difficult phase – which every team goes through – but unfortunately ours was at an end.
“QPR were a little different, but the games against Sunderland and Blackburn, where we dominated but didn’t have that ruthlessness to close out games, were difficult to take.
“The team won 90 points, which is almost always enough to move up. So we must give credit to Ipswich and Leicester, who fully deserved promotion.
“For us it was about dusting off the disappointment and going again. And we showed that in the two play-off semi-finals against Norwich.”
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Leeds were close to perfection as they defeated the Canaries 4-0 at Elland Road after being pragmatic and solid at the back in the goalless draw at Carrow Road.
The home thrashing of Norwich and the 4-0 win over Ipswich at Elland Road in December were undoubtedly the two standout performances of the season.
And there is no Championship team with a richer array of attacking talent in their ranks than Leeds with players like James Piroe Crysencio Summerville
Georginio Rutter and Wilfried Gnonto.
James said: “There’s a lot of competition there. There were loads of goals from everyone who played, which is brilliant for us as a team.
“It’s difficult for a coach to choose a team from there.
“Southampton has the same offensive qualities and has goals.
“For us it’s how we can defend from the front. It’s not just the defense and the goalkeeper, it’s the front. That will be a big factor.
“Keeping a clean sheet is very important. In the last two games we did that.
“And if we can go into Sunday’s game with the same mentality, we will have great opportunities.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
