Is a BREATHING GURU the secret to England's new-found penalty success? Three Lions have hired a 'breath coach' for the Euros - and Declan Rice is telling stars to 'manifest' his methods

England's secret to their faultless penalty shootout success at Euro 2024 could be a breathing guru hired to help players keep their composure, it has been revealed.

The Three Lions held their nerve to score five perfect spot-kicks and beat Switzerland in Dusseldorf, setting up a semi-final showdown against the Netherlands on Wednesday and moving them ever closer to a first men's trophy since 1966.

The history of the national side has been littered with heartache from 12 yards, with current boss Gareth Southgate himself seeing a penalty saved at Euro 96, but a renewed push to change the mentality in recent years has paid dividends.

Indeed, Southgate is said to have worked tirelessly to improve the psyche of his players ahead of shootouts. A team of analysts, led by a sports psychologist, were first drafted in and now, breathing expert Stuart Sandeman has also been hired.

With the end goal of the work to help players take control of high-pressure situations surrounding penalties and avoid being scared of them, the squad have been tasked with taking deep breaths to regain calm and control before shooting.

Several players, including Bukayo Saka, visibly inhaled and exhaled purposefully during the shootout against the Swiss, which England won 5-3.

Expert Geir Jordet believes the work was noticeable.

'Some are told to do very deliberate conscious breathing, where they are focusing on deep diaphragmatic breaths that we know will bring on a cascade of constructive hormones and neurobiological processes in your brain and body,' he told AP.

Three Lions players were pictured during a relaxing session held by Sandeman in the wake of their pulsating extra-time victory against Slovakia in the last-16. 

Sandeman, a BBC Radio 1 DJ and bestselling author, has worked in the profession for over eight years and first discovered the benefits of breathwork after his girlfriend tragically died from cancer in 2016. He later took his mother to a lesson.

The 41-year-old performance coach is also the founder of Breathpod.

His technique has been described as 'distinctive... designed to disrupt negative thought patterns, release tension, and increase flow.' 

Breathwork can aid recovery and help athletes work on their fight or flight instinct.

'The autonomous nervous system is split in two halves… how we're breathing really affects that on switch,' Sandeman told Misner. 

'Not only does breathing bring life into our body, but it triggers our state of being. 

'It affects how we feel, how we think, how our system works.' 

Luke Shaw revealed after the win against Switzerland that Declan Rice had reminded his team-mates about the breathing techniques they had learned.

'Declan was our speaker, he was calming everyone down and telling them to do their breathing techniques and manifest them,' Shaw said. 'It was needed.'