Penalty shoot outs have often been the decider when two equal teams could not be separated in open play. Over the years, some of the greatest games have been decided from the spot. Some teams have triumphed while some were left in tears. Some players weretransformed into national icons while others becamethe villain ofthe nation. We take a look at the 5 most nerve-racking penalty shoot outs inWorld Cup history.
#5 Portugal vs England - 2006 quarter-final
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In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Portugal and England were drawn against each other in the quarter-final of the tournament. Portugal’s squad boasted of world class players like Figo, Deco, Maniche and the sensational Cristiano Ronaldo. England themselves weren’t far away in terms of quality as they had Gerrard, Lampard, Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney in their ranks.
The match ended in a stalemate after normal time. Extra time was no different as both the nations failed to score the deciding goal of the match. The game went into a penalty shoot out.
Portugal began the shoot out on a positive note as Simao put his team in the lead from the first spot kick. It was Lampard’s turn to even things up but the Chelsea midfielder failed to get it past the Portuguese goalkeeper, Ricardo. Hugo Viana failed to extend Portugal’s lead as Robinson denied him.
Owen Hargreaves made it 1-1 from the next kick. Robinson again denied Portugal as Petit missed his chance and England were right back in it.
But Gerrard could not capitalize as Ricardo pulled off yet another save. Postiga scored while Carragher was denied by Ricardo who was putting up a sensational performance in the shoot out. Finally, Ronaldo stepped up from the spot to guide Portugal to the semis of the World Cup while England were sent home.
#4 Brazil vs France - 1986 quarter-final
One of the most gifted generations of Brazilian players represented their nation at the 1986 World Cup. Players like Zico and Socrates, both of whom were considered to be two of the greatest players of their time, carried their country’s hopes in the tournament.
In the quarter-finals, they were up against a France side captained by the brilliant Michel Platini. The match kicked off and the early blow came in the 17th minute from the Brazilians as Careca scored to put his side into the lead.
However, Platini stepped up just before half-time to cancel out their lead and made it 1-1. The scored remained the same for the rest of the 90 minutes which took the match into extra time. But even that couldn’t decide the game and the game headed into a penalty shoot out.
First up was Socrates to take the spot kick for the Brazilians. France goalkeeper, Joel Bats, guessed right as he stopped Socrates’ shot to put France in a good position. Stopyra’s penalty gave the France the lead.
From then on, all the spot kicks were successfully converted by both the teams until Michel Platini’s chance came. Platini had the opportunity to give his team a 4-3 lead. But the midfielder saw his shot sail over the bar.
Brazil had the opportunity to even things up from their next penalty kick. But Julio Cesar was denied by an exceptional reflex stop from Bats and Brazil failed to capitalize on Platini’s miss. The match was capped off by Fernandez as his spot kick helped France seal their spot in the semis, thus, ending the nerve racking penalty shoot out.
#3 West Germany vs France - 1982 semi-final
In the semi-finals of the 1982 World Cup, France and West Germany played the first ever penalty shoot out in World Cup history. Both the sides scored one goal each and the game remained 1-1 till the 90th minute.
In the first half of the extra-time France scored two goals in quick succession and Germany’s hopes started to fade away.
But West Germany showcased their never-say-die-attitude as Rummenigge and Fischer rescued their side in the 102 and 108th minute to bring things on level terms. The final whistle blew and we were in for a penalty shoot out.
It was France’s turn first as Giresse took the long walk towards the goal and successfully returned after scoring from the spot kick. Right-back Amoroso also converted his opportunity while West Germany’s Paul Breitner and Kaltz did not fail as they kept up with the French.
The first miss came from Germany’s end when Stielike’s shot was stopped by France goalkeeper Jean Luc Ettori. But France failed to get ahead after Six missed his kick from the spot. The Germans followed up with three successful penalties while Bossis missed his opportunity to hand over the win to the Germans.
#2 Italy vs France - 2006 final
The world has witnessed some classic matches whenever Italy and France have come up against each other. And these two giants produced one of the most epic encounters when they met each other as the two finalists of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Both the sides scored within the first 20 minutes of the match. Zidane converted from the penalty spot while Materazzi equalized with a header from Pirlo’s corner kick. The game ended 1-1.
Extra time produced one of the most controversial World Cup moments as Zinedine Zidane was sent off in the 100th minute after he head butted Marco Materazzi. France played out the remaining minutes with 10 men and the game went to a penalty shoot out.
Andrea Pirlo successfully dispatched Italy’s first penalty. Wiltord leveled it up with France’s first spot kick. Materazzi made it 2-1 for the Italians and put pressure was on their adversaries. David Trezeguet was up next. The French striker stepped forward only to hit the bar and his team went behind.
It proved to be the decisive moment of the shoot out as both teams converted their remaining penalities and Grosso buried the last penalty past Barthez to win the Italians their fourth World Cup.
#1 Brazil vs Italy -1994 final
Brazil and Italy was the first ever World Cup final which was decided by a penalty shoot out. It was a clash between two of the most successful nations in the tournament’s history.
PreviousIy, the teams had met in the 1970 final and the 1994 final marked the second time that the same teams had met in two different World Cup finals. Italy gave a compact performance to deny the Brazilians a goal. The game ended 0-0 after 120 minutes had been played out.
Penalties were the need of the hour to decide who would go on to lift their fourth trophy as both sides had 3 World Cups to their names. In stepped Marcio Santos to take the first penalty for Brazil. The centre-back couldn’t keep his shot down and Brazil started on the back foot.
But things evened up when Franco Baresi missed the first spot kick for the Italians. Romario, Branco and Dunga scored the next three chances while Massaro missed under pressure.
The moment where one can be a national hero or could turn into a villain arrived as Roberto Baggio had to score to keep Italy’s hopes alive. The forward took the long walk towards the goal as he stepped up to take the most important spot kick of his entire life. He took his run up and kicked the ball over the bar post and instantly broke the hearts of the Italian supporters all over the World.
Brazil lifted their fourth World Cup while Italy had to return heart-broken as the runners up.
