What Makes a World Cup Winner? The Power of a Solution Focused Mindset
- Imogen Lawrence
- Jul 6
- 3 min read
As the World Cup reaches its decisive stages, one question becomes more relevant than ever:
What separates good teams from great ones?
Skill, fitness and tactics all matter, but at the highest level, mindset is often the difference between lifting the trophy and going home empty-handed.
Modern football is no longer just about formations and finishing. Elite teams invest heavily in psychology and performance support. Jess Thom, Team GB's lead psychologist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, has spoken openly about how even Olympic champions experience anxiety and self-doubt. Rather than trying to eliminate those feelings, athletes are taught to acknowledge them and refocus on the task in front of them.*
In football, sport psychologists often use solution-focused approaches because they are future-oriented, goal-driven, strength-based and practical under pressure.
This reflects the principles of Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (SFH), which helps people build on their strengths rather than dwelling on mistakes. A recent review of 72 studies concluded that Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), which underpins SFH, "is beneficial for a variety of psychosocial problems", helping people achieve positive outcomes by focusing on strengths, resources and future goals.**
What does Solution Focused Hypnotherapy do?
SFH combines Solution Focused Therapy with therapeutic hypnosis to help people:
Build a picture of their best performance
Strengthen confidence through mental rehearsal
Reduce threat-based thinking
Stay calm and focused under pressure
Researchers at Cardiff Metropolitan University, working with the English Institute of Sport, spent six years developing a framework that helps elite athletes reframe problems into more "solvable" descriptions, reflecting the same solution-focused principles.†
Imagine a familiar England scenario: Harry Kane steps up to take a decisive penalty, or Jude Bellingham receives the ball in the final minutes of a knockout match. Under pressure, the brain can either become threat-led, resulting in fear and overthinking, or solution-led, enabling focus, composure and decisive action. SFH helps shift thinking towards this calmer, goal-directed state.
The "what works" mindset
Traditional psychology often asks, "What went wrong?" A solution-focused approach asks, "When did it go right, even slightly, and how can we do more of that?" Instead of replaying a missed chance, an athlete identifies the moments they stayed composed and repeats the conditions that supported success.
From the football pitch to the workplace
These principles apply just as well outside sport. Whether you're leading a business, preparing for an interview or giving a presentation, SFH helps you:
Set clearer, more meaningful goals
Reduce performance anxiety
Build resilience by focusing on what is already working and making small improvements
Elite performers like Harry Kane rely on routines, they focus on what they can control, mentally rehearse success and reset quickly after setbacks. Those same habits can help us perform better in everyday life.
What does this mean for you?
The gap between elite athletes and the rest of us isn't just talent, it's mindset.
You may never play for England, but you will face moments that demand confidence, resilience and clear thinking.
As we head into the home stretch of the World Cup, why not try one Solution Focused Therapy technique?
Instead of asking, What's going wrong? ask yourself, When did this go even slightly better, and what did I do differently?
Then do more of that!
Because in sport, business and life, performance rarely changes by fixing everything. It changes by amplifying what already works.
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