Worst ever penalties in World Cup history: From Diana Ross to Chris Waddle, we run through the shockers
England fans, look away now - there's a reminder of plenty of penalty heartache
PENALTY!
The World Cup wouldn’t be the World Cup without a little drama from 12 yards out.
Just ask England’s long-suffering fans.
Mercifully, England’s hapless spot-kickers aren’t the only ones who’ve made a pig’s ear of penalties in the tournament (although they do figure quite heavily)…
Diana Ross, The Opening Ceremony, USA 1994
Where better to start than the opening ceremony of the 1994 World Cup Finals in the United States?
Nowhere, that’s where.
Yes, at Chicago’s Soldier Field stadium the Motown legend broke off her rendition of her hit I’m Coming Out to take a penalty at a goalkeeper stood in a temporary goal, the idea being that she would score and the goal frame would then collapse under the sheer force of the strike.
It didn’t quite go to plan.
After a stuttering run-up, Ross took her penalty but succeeded only in hooking it wide of the target.
Miraculously, the goal still collapsed in the aftermath.
You can see it here. It’s spectacularly bad.
Roberto Baggio, Brazil vs Italy, USA 1994
The 1994 tournament began with a missed penalty at the opening ceremony in Chicago and ended with another in the final in Pasedena.
After Brazil and Italy contested the dullest final in living memory, the game still remained goalless after extra-time and had to be settled by a penalty shoot-out.
Though both sides missed their opening efforts, they scored their next two.
When Danielle Massaro missed his spot-kick and Brazilian skipper Dunga converted his, it left Roberto Baggio, the so-called ‘Divine Ponytail’, needing to score his to keep Italy’s hopes alive.
He failed.
Though Baggio sent Brazil keeper Claudio Taffarel the wrong way, he also sent the ball sailing over the crossbar.
Game, set and match to the South Americans.
Asamoah Gyan, Ghana vs Uruguay, South Africa 2010
You don’t just have to miss the key penalty in the final to have your name etched in World Cup history for all the wrong reasons.
Take Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan, for instance.
With the Black Stars' quarter-final against Uruguay poised at 1-1, the Africans were awarded a penalty in the dying seconds when Luis Suarez shockingly handled on the line.
Up stepped Gyan, knowing that if he scored Ghana would become the first African team in history to make it to a semi-final of the World Cup.
Disaster.
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Though he made a good connection, the ball banged off the crossbar and over the top. It was the last kick of normal time.
To his credit, Gyan actually scored in the penalty shoot-out that settled the game but still Ghana failed to make it through. To top it all, however, Gyan then signed for Sunderland straight after the World Cup.
Poor chap.
Michel Platini, France vs Brazil, Mexico 1986
Long before he was turfed out of his job at Uefa, Michel Platini was, undeniably, one of the most gifted players to ever tread the turf.
But his penalty in the quarter-final against Brazil in 1986 was a shocker, ballooned way over the bar and into the jubilant Brazil fans behind the goal.
Luckily for Platini, he was the only Frenchman to miss and Les Bleus still squeezed through 4-3.
Unluckily for Platini, they then got knocked out by Germany.
Alberto Garcia Aspe, Mexico vs Bulgaria, USA 1994
It was the Benny Hill of World Cup penalty shoot-outs, made all the funnier by Bulgarian keeper Boris Mikhailov’s sensationl wig.
Bulgaria would progress to the quarter-finals thanks to their 3-1 win in the decider, but it was Mexico’s appalling penalties that took the biscuit, the worst of which was Alberto Garcia Aspe’s effort.
No run-up? Check.
A shot weaker than a kitten? Check.
Simple save for the syrup? You bet.
If you thought England were bad at penalties, check these out (from 2min mark)...
Chris Waddle, England vs West Germany, Italy 1990
You can forgive Stuart Pearce for missing his penalty in the heartbreaking semi-final shoot-out to West Germany in 1990.
After all, he hit the target, only to see his spot-kick saved by the legs of Bodo Ilgner.
But Chris Waddle?
Never.
His penalty is probably still in orbit to this day as he walloped it way over the crossbar. Interestingly, at the start of the tournament Waddle still had his trademark mullet hairstyle but had chopped it off before the semi-final, the net result being that his head was lighter, meaning he leant back more easily and the ball was always more likely to get airborne.
Well, that’s our theory anyway.
Jamie Carragher, England vs Portugal, Germany 2006
Was this England’s worst ever World Cup penalty shoot-out? It’s hard to argue against it really when you consider that two of the shiniest members of the so-called ‘Golden Generation’, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, both missed their penalties.
But you had to feel for Carra.
When he stepped up to take his he scored with some aplomb - but was made to retake it as the keeper wasn’t ready.
You know what happened next. Portuguese keeper Ricardo saved his second effort, leaving the colossal winker Cristiano Ronaldo to apply the final nail in England’s World Cup coffin.
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Paul Ince, England vs Argentina, France 1998
Another World Cup and another exit from 12 yards for the Three Lions.
Despite a valiant effort against Argentina in the wake of David Beckham’s red card, Glenn Hoddle’s side were dumped out in a shoot-out in the last 16 game in Saint-Etienne.
And while it was David Batty that missed the crucial penalty, it was the surprise appearance of Paul Ince in the line-up that raised a few eyebrows.
Ince, you may recall, dodged the penalties against Germany in the semi-final of Euro 96, allowing Gareth Southgate to take the rap.
But now the self-styled ‘Guvnor’, finally stepped up to the spot.
He shouldn’t have bothered (above 2mins, 5secs).