World Cup 2018: Ranking the Best Penalty Takers in Russia

#8 Luka Milivojević (81.82%)

Luka Milivojevic

Weren’t expecting that? Neither was I- in fact, I double-checked and triple-checked the numbers to see if the rather anonymous Serbian midfielder Milivojevic is the 8th best penalty taker in the tournament.

In reality, these rankings may be underselling the Crystal Place midfielder’s ability to the spot, as one of his two misses in his career was in a Serbian Superliga game six years previously.

Milivojevic has since taken ten penalties (all for Palace), having only missed one of them (a vital one that could have ended Manchester City’s unbeaten run). In fact, Milivojevic’s penalties were a major reason why Crystal Palace managed to get out of their early season rut and move to midtable safety.

Milivojevic’s biggest strength is that his penalties are accurate as he has only placed one penalty off-target throughout his career. Interestingly, Serbia haven’t been awarded a penalty in international football since 2010 so the identity of their regular penalty-taker is still unknown.

It will likely be Alexander Kolarov (after that free-kick it would take a brave man to get him off a set piece)- considering these statistics, Milivojevic would perhaps be a preferable choice.