World Cup 2018: Ranking the Best Penalty Takers in Russia

#7 Paulo Dybala (82.61%)

Paulo Dybala

Perhaps there is no better player in the World Cup who is not a surefire starter for their nation than Paulo Dybala. Reports have suggested that Messi does not like playing with the Juventus forward- understandable considering that their styles are very similar (and Messi is far more superior).

Nonetheless, when it comes to penalties, Dybala should be the one taking spot-kicks if he is on the pitch (which he wasn’t during the Iceland game). Similarly to Milivojevic, Dybala’s career statistics may be underselling his penalty prowess.

This is because Dybala has made 90.5% of his penalties since November 2014. His biggest strength is his unpredictability. Consider Dybala’s last five successful penalties: two were low shots to the right, one central low shot, one shot in the right corner and one shot in the left corner.

While Dybala missed two penalties over the last season, his record since 2014 is so good that Jorge Sampaoli should consider subbing him in a penalty specialist before a shootout in a knockout game.