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Penalty shootouts are perhaps the most brutal thing in football. For the takers, they have nothing to gain. Score and people will say that is what is expected of you. Miss and you are remembered as the villain.
Supporting England, we have had more than enough agony from penalty shootouts over the years. The Three Lions have reached just two semi-finals since winning their only World Cup in 1966 and lost both of them on penalties.
On both occasions, it was at the hands of Germany: at the World Cup in 1990, and the European Championships held in England in 1996, where current manager Gareth Southgate was the man to miss.
There was finally shootout success for England this year though, beating Colombia 4-3 on spot-kicks to progress to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. That was one of three penalty shootouts in the round of 16, with Russia and Croatia also progressing through penalties, knocking out Spain and Denmark respectively.
This has already been a record-breaking World Cup in terms of penalties. 28 have been awarded in Russia this summer, more than at any other World Cup, and 21 have been scored. Harry Kane has been the most successful from the spot, scoring three penalties so far this tournament.
Many people have put this spike in penalties down to the influence of VAR, which has been responsible for the award of ten up until this point of the tournament.
But it’s not the penalties that have been scored that are remembered, it’s those that are missed. Here are five of the most famous missed penalties in World Cup history.
#1 Roberto Baggio (1994)
Baggio’s is probably the most famous missed penalty. The Italian is seen as one of the greatest players we have seen on the world stage, and rightly so, but many still remember him for this penalty miss. In the USA in 1994, Baggio was one of the stars of the tournament, He had endured a frustrating group stage, but came to the fore in the knockout stages, and took Italy all the way to the final.
He scored twice against Nigeria in the round of 16, and then the winner against Spain in the quarter finals. He also scored both goals in the 2-1 semi-final win over Bulgaria, setting up an encounter with Brazil in the final.
Baggio wasn’t fully fit after picking up a hamstring injury in the semi-final but was still on the pitch after 120 minutes as the game went to penalties. He was the last of Italy’s five takers and needed to score to keep the game alive. He skied it horribly over though, creating one of the World Cup’s most memorable moments, but sadly for the wrong reasons.
#2 Asamoah Gyan (2010)
No African side has ever made it past the quarterfinals of the World Cup, but it would have been different had it not been for Gyan’s miss against Uruguay in 2010. He is the highest scoring African player in World Cup history, going past Roger Milla, having netted six times in the three tournaments he’s played at. Up until that penalty, he had an excellent World Cup in South Africa.
He scored a penalty under pressure against Serbia in the opening group match, and in the round of 16 netted the winner against USA. That quarter-final tie with Uruguay is better remembered for the antics of Luis Suarez.
He saw red in the final act of the game for handling on the line, giving Gyan the chance to send Ghana through. He stepped up and hit the bar. He did score a penalty in the shootout, but Ghana were still eliminated.
#3 Chris Waddle (1990)
It was only a matter of time until an England player came up on this list, and it came in England’s first ever penalty shootout. The 1990 World Cup in Italy was England’s most successful tournament since the 1966 World Cup when they went all the way to the title.
It was announced before the competition began that Bobby Robson would be leaving the role of manager after the tournament in Italy, but England still put in impressive performances.
The semi-final against Germany produced many iconic moments in English football history. The first of which was when Paul Gascoigne picked up a yellow card that ruled him out of the final and appeared to be in tears on the pitch.
Having seen Stuart Pearce already miss in the shootout, Waddle stepped up knowing he needed to score. It was a shocking penalty though, as he fired it miles over the bar.
#2 Zico (1986)
Zico is known as one of Brazil’s greatest players, and is currently their fifth highest goalscorer of all-time, having netted 48 goals in just 71 games. But despite all that, and the belief that the Brazil team from the 1982 World Cup is one of the greatest of all time, Zico never won a World Cup.
In the quarter-final with France, the game was level going into the final 75 minutes. Careca had opened the scoring for Brazil, before Michel Platini had equalised just before halftime. Zico, who had been suffering from injury during the tournament, came off the bench after 71 minutes, and moments later his side was awarded a penalty.
Despite Careca and Socrates, who had already scored penalties in the tournament, still being on the pitch, it was Zico who took responsibility. His penalty was weak and too close to the ‘keeper though, and Joel Bats made the save.
The game eventually went to a penalty shootout, during which Zico scored, but misses from Socrates and Julio Cesar meant Brazil were sent home. It was Zico’s last ever World Cup match.
#1 David Trezeguet (2006)
Although the last three have all gone to extra time, just two World Cup finals have been decided by a penalty shootout. The first of those came in 1994 when Baggio missed his spot kick, and the next came in 2006.
Very few people remember the 2006 final for its penalty shootout though. It is best remembered for Zinedine Zidane’s infamous headbutt on Italy’s Marco Materazzi, for which he received a red card, and saw his illustrious career end in disgrace.
Zidane had given France the lead from the spot early on, before Materazzi headed home an equaliser. The game’s defining moment came in extra time when the two goal scorers clashed, and we went to penalties.
In finals, it is always the ones who miss that are remembered. Trezeguet was the only man to miss during the shootout, stepping up second for France and smashing his shot against the bar. Fabio Grosso scored the winner, as the World Cup was won by Italy.
