World Cup 2010: The biggest penalty kick misses in World Cups
The worst way to end a world cup match is through a flip of the coin. However, the worst way agreed by FIFA and football nations across the globe is through the penalty kicks! WHY? Because after the hard work of first 90 and later 30 minutes goes down the drain for the team that loses the battle of the kicks, something the Japanese have experienced recently.
On the third try for Japan, Komano missed the chance to steer his side into their first quarter finals when he kicked the Jabulani onto the crossbar to help Paraguay reach their first quarter finals. It isn’t as bad as an own goal, but missing a penalty is somewhere in the same region. The Japanese must take solace in the fact that there have been similar incidents in the World Cups before, and the top 5 are mentioned below to make them feel better!
5. Jamie Carragher, World Cup 2006- English players have always been a failure when it comes to penalty kicks, and so we have one on number five. During their quarter final match in 2006, the tall Jamie Carragher was asked to hit the ball into the net, something he did successfully … only to find out that the referee hadn’t blown the whistle yet. He then went back to his mark, viewed the scenario and saw the Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira getting ready to save the kick, with little help from lady luck. What he didn’t know was that the man between him and a possible goal was the most successful goalkeeper of the tournament, and he lived up to his reputation. Carragher hit the ball in the same direction in which the keeper dove, and England went out of the quarter finals!
4. Roberto Donadoni, World Cup 1990- Milan was the venue of this Italy Vs Argentina semi final, where the hosts were taking on the defending champions. With thousands of fans watching, Roberto Donadoni had more on his mind than scoring the goal, and he is on the list at number 4 for the same reason. The Italian midfielder came in, hit the ball as if he was least worried about the outcome and saw the kick being saved by the Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Goucochea, who jumped to his right to make the superb save. Donadoni’s miss handed Argentina a chance to reach the final of the event for the second consecutive time.
3-David Trezeguet, World Cup 2006- He came, he kicked and he missed, is exactly the best way to describe this penalty kick from Trezeguet, whose miss made the Italians in Berlin and across the world proud! He is on the list at number 3, since he simply couldn’t net the ball, and the miss proved costly, as it handed Italy their fourth World Cup title.
2-Stuart Pearce, World Cup 1990- It is England once again as the former World Champions’ woes continue with the mention of penalty kicks, that too in the World Cup finals. On number two, we have Stuart Pearce who couldn’t pierce the goalkeeper when his side was playing for a place in the final. He made a casual attempt to hit the ball into the goal, only to be denied by a diving West German keeper Bodo Illgner. The West Germans played Argentina in the final and went onto win the tournament.
1-Roberto Baggio, World Cup 1994- No list about penalty kick misses could be complete without the mention of Roberto Baggio, who is on the top of this ill-fated list! He stunned the world in 1990 with his amazing pace and accuracy, and in 1994, Baggio was being termed as one of the best players in the world. Yet he continued to stun the world, but this time by missing a penalty kick, that would have denied the Brazilians their 4th World Cup title. Taking the penalty in the hot and humid conditions of California, Baggio was asked to take the final penalty after two of his colleagues failed to score in their attempts. Had he scored, the match would have moved onto sudden death, but the strike by Baggio didn’t even go near the goal post. The Italian supporters were shocked as Baggio’s kick went over the bar, and the rest is history!
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