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Top five players who have missed significant penalties in the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Penalty spot kicks in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have been quite important. The best feeling in football has to be when you score a penalty in a hostile environment when the pressure is unbearable but the ice in your veins tells you that you can do it.
Few players can thrive under pressure and resist playing mind games with opponents or goalkeepers in order to win a decisive penalty for the team.
This World Cup has seen a lot of these situations, and the players that stood up to take the penalty will be remembered. Others who were pressed into action and missed it will be reflecting on their situation.
Here are the top five players who have missed decisive penalties that could have altered the outcome of games:
5. Marquinhos
The PSG defender will have a bad memory of that day because his rebound helped Croatia score an equalizer, and he also missed a crucial penalty that could have kept Brazil in the game. Marquinhos missed the final penalty of the shootout that sealed his nation’s exit from the tournament.
Marquinhos came up to take the fourth penalty with Brazil down 4-2 after the shootout, and if he had made it, it would have kept them in the match. However, the player’s shot struck the bottom right corner bar, agonizingly ruining Brazil’s hopes of winning a fifth World Cup.
Croatia qualified for the tournament’s semi-finals for the second time in a row thanks to the victory. In 2018, they reached the finals before losing to France.
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4. Sergio Busquets
He wasted his chance to keep Spain in the game by taking the third penalty rather than the first. Busquets had the chance to boost his nation’s spirits as Morocco had a two-penalty lead. But because of his lack of force in the penalty shootout, Bounou accurately predicted his penalty and denied Spain a spot in the shootout, sending Spain home from the World Cup.
The Barcelona midfielder was one of three players who failed to convert from the spot. After Spain was eliminated from the World Cup on penalties by Morocco, Sergio Busquets lamented a “cruel way to lose.” Busquets was one of three Spaniards to fail from the spot as La Roja crashed out of the competition in the last 16.
3. Robert Lewandowski
When one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Ochoa Mexican, anticipated Lewandowski’s shot and parried away his penalty against Mexico, he was named the best penalty taker in football. Poland advanced to the knockout stage when the match ended in a tie, although if they had won, they would have won the group and avoided playing a strong team in the round of 16.
Everything hinged on Poland’s final match against France, who eliminated them from the competition and allowed Poland to advance on goal differential.
Robert Lewandowski missed his first penalty for his country. With 76 goals overall, Poland’s all-time leading scorer has yet to record a World Cup goal.
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2. Andre Ayew
Ghana appeared more interested in vengeance than winning the game. But it all started well for Ghana when they were awarded a penalty and Andre Ayew, who was part of the 2010 World Cup when Suarez ruined their hopes by saving a shot with his hands and was given a red card, was given a red card and Uruguay won on penalties.
Ayew seemed to be suffering from a hangover from that match because Rochet saved his penalty. Uruguay took advantage of the break by scoring twice, but neither of them counted because South Korea’s goal in the dying seconds ensured that they would advance to the round of 16.
The outcome of the game would have been radically different if Ayew had successfully converted his penalty.
1. Harry Kane
This was Kane’s most important penalty miss, and it will torment the Three Lions captain for months to come because his penalty would have kept England in the game.
Mason Mount of Chelsea was pushed into the box immediately after coming on as France had a 2-1 lead. Nevertheless, the referee disregarded the decision. Referee Wilton Pereira indicated toward the penalty area when VAR requested another review, and it was a well-deserving penalty.
England were one penalty away from tying the game in the 82nd minute. Kane, who had scored the previous penalty, took the risk and appeared at ease. However, it appeared like Kane had capitulated under pressure and skied his penalty, resulting in jubilation from France’s fans and players as England was unable to find an equalizer and were knocked from the competition.