Penalty usually looks like an easy goal. Converting a spot-kick from 11 meters with a goal of 7.32 by 2.44 is looked down upon by many fans. Still 2018 World Cup shows penalty goals should not be taken for granted.
On Saturday two penalty misses cost two great teams points. Peru's Cueva spoilt a brilliant opportunity to make it a 1-0. His embarrassing miss allowed Denmark to keep the clean sheet and then to score a winning goal. And even Lionel Messi did not manage to keep calm in front of Iceland goalkeeper. As a result it is just 1-1 for the 2014 WC runners-up.
Messi's penalties are terrible. Do you know how many he's missed recently?
But Messi is not the only great to have missed those decisive penalties. We all remember Roberto Baggio's over the bar shot in 1994 shootout. That was the only game in his career when he drove the ball above the bar from a spot kick. We can also recall David Beckham and several important misses he had. Marco Van Basten's miss was enough for the Dutch to be eliminated from EURO'88 vs Denmark. And in 2000 the Netherlands in semifinal vs Italy managed to miss two penalties in the game to be eliminated on penalties. Although the best takers took chance — Frank de Boer and Patrick Kluivert.
To convert a penalty you are to have a special mindset. 'I watched Italia '90 with my Mum and Dad and my brother, you know, leaping around the house when the penalties were on... It would be great to be part of that, to have that kind of impact', said Steven Gerrard.
'During a game, it comes down to your mind - the pressure. There are loads of other aspects, too. Many people say taking penalties is easy, but when you're stood over one, that's not the case. It's in no way easy. The goal really does become a lot smaller', another great quote, this time by Francesco Totti.
'You can take 100 penalties in training, but when you go out on that pitch in front of all those people and the television cameras, it's completely different', thinks Alan Shearer. A great goalscorer, a great penalty taker, but still even he missed them.
So when you are about to type another comment on Ronaldo is Penaldo because he scores only from spot-kicks, just hold on for a second. Taking a penalty needs composure and great self-control. Just imagine: Ronaldo and Griezmann, who converted their penalties on World Cup, take them every matchweek. Goalkeepers study them thoroughly. The pressure on them is immense. But they still manage to score!
Probably it is still to be better a Penaldo who scored a penalty, than Missi who missed it.
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