3 World Cup penalty shoot-out misses that cost their teams dearly

Traditional powerhouses Germany and the Netherlands crashed out on spot kicks in the World Cup round of 32 on June 29, falling victim to the lottery of the penalty shoot-out.

Four-time champions Germany, a team that had won all four of their previous penalty shoot-outs at the World Cup, lost to Paraguay.

Three-time runners-up the Netherlands, meanwhile, lost to Morocco.

For the Germans, centre-back Jonathan Tah’s horror miss gave the Paraguayans the impetus for victory, after he blazed a rugby kick into the stands in sudden death, giving Jose Canale the opportunity to score the winning kick.

Midfielder Quinten Timber was one of three Dutch players who failed to find the net – the others being Justin Kluivert and Crysencio Summerville – although he was guilty of the worst miss, dragging his shot well wide of the post.

Here are three other infamous penalty misses at the World Cup that cost their team dear.

David Trezeguet, for France v Italy; Final, 2006

Juventus forward David Trezeguet had come on as a substitute for France against Italy in the 100th minute, with coach Raymond Domenech lining up the poacher – scorer of the golden goal against the same opponents in the Euro 2000 final – as a penalty taker, as extra time in the 2006 final in Berlin petered out.

The final had started swiftly with the second-quickest goal in a World Cup final, after Zinedine Zidane’s panenka from the penalty spot gave France the lead in the seventh minute. Marco Materazzi equalised for the Italians with a towering header from a 19th-minute set piece.

Both players then emerged as key protagonists in a sending-off that the 2006 final will forever be remembered for, just 10 minutes after Trezeguet’s introduction.

Off the ball, Zidane launched a stunning headbutt into Materazzi’s chest, allegedly after the Italian defender insulted the Frenchman’s sister – something Materazzi revealed only years later – giving the referee no option but to send off the France captain.

After the match ended 1-1, France’s second penalty taker Trezeguet crashed his spot kick against the bar, the only one of nine takers who failed to score in that shoot-out, which Italy won 5-3 to lift their fourth World Cup.

Stuart Pearce, for England v West Germany; Semi-final, 1990

Stuart Pearce was an uncompromising left-back for England and affectionately nicknamed “Psycho” as much for his dogged determination and his willingness to play through injury.

With the score level at 3-3 in the 1990 semi-final shoot-out in Turin, Italy, Pearce lined up to take England’s fourth spot kick against arch-rivals West Germany. He struck a firm shot down the middle of the goal, but German keeper Bodo Illgner repelled the effort with his legs.

A further miss by teammate Chris Waddle – not unlike Tah’s ballooned shot 36 years later – condemned the Three Lions to a 4-3 defeat from the spot, extending the men’s team’s winless run in major championships, a drought that has stretched since 1966 and remains to this day.

Pearce would earn his chance at redemption at Euro ’96 quarter-finals against Spain at Wembley. The cathartic roar he let out after smashing his spot kick home also lifted a six-year burden he would later reveal had been weighing him down emotionally.

Roberto Baggio, for Italy v Brazil; Final, 1990

Roberto Baggio, another Juventus forward, had arrived at the 1994 World Cup final hosted by the US as the reigning Ballon d’Or winner. The Azzurri and Romario’s Brazil had played out a goal-less draw in the decider.

When he stepped up to the spot with the Brazilians leading 3-2 in the shoot-out, few would have expected any outcome other than the ball hitting the back of the net.

Instead, Baggio blasted over the bar, not unlike an American football conversion spectators at the Rose Bowl, home to the UCLA Bruins gridiron football team, would have been accustomed to witnessing. Brazil won their third World Cup, and Italy would have to wait until 2006 for redemption.

Baggio later described the moment as a “wound that never heals”, adding that if he could pick one moment from his career to erase, it would be that fateful miss on that July afternoon in Pasadena, California.

It has gone down as arguably the most iconic penalty shoot-out miss in World Cup history.