Doha: In the final match of 1994 FIFA World Cup USA, which brought together Brazil and Italy, the penalty shootout decided for the first time in the history of the World Cup the final result.
In the match, Franco Baresi missed the first penalty for Italy. His teammate, goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca corrected the situation and prevented the Brazilians from making progress by blocking Marcio Santos’ shot.
Italian Daniele Massaro faced the same situation after failing to score as Brazilian goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel saved his penalty. Then, Italian icon Roberto Baggio kicked the ball over the crossbar, a ball that remained present in collective memory and that created a deep sadness in the hearts of Italians, while on the other hand created overwhelming joy in the hearts of Brazilian fans, whose team was on the throne of world football.
Among famous penalty shootouts were the one that brought France and Germany together in the semifinals of the 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain. Germany defeated France to qualify for the final match against Italy.
During the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico, France compensated for their exit four years ago, on penalties against Germany in the 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain, after defeating Brazil in the quarterfinals on penalties, despite Michel Platini missing his penalty.
In Italy in 1990, England played the World Cup semifinals for the first time since winning the title in 1966 against Germany in a match that ended in a 1-1 draw. As a result, both teams resorted to a penalty shootout that brought fortune to the Germans. When the result was (3-3), English Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddell missed their kicks for their team, with Olaf Thon scoring for the Germans.
The semifinal match between the Netherlands and Brazil at the 1998 France World Cup was an opportunity to follow two teams among the best in the 20th Century. It ended in a positive draw of 1-1 and the match would have gone to a penalty shootout, but thanks to the calmness of their players, Brazil managed to beat the Netherlands, after Dunga, Rivaldo and Emerson scored against Van der Sar, while Brazilian goalkeeper Taffarel shone in front of Philippe Cocco and Ronald de Boer.
In 2002, South Korea reached the round of 16 for the first time in its history, then the quarterfinals, in which the Spanish national team was forced to go through a penalty shootout after a goalless draw, and then to the semifinals thanks to their exceptional goalkeeper.
In 2006, the title was decided for the second time on penalties in the final match between France and Italy, which ended in a draw 1-1. It saw the dismissal of Zinedine Zidane, but in the penalty shootout the Italians coped with the tragedy of America 1994, when they lost to Brazil, David Trezeguet was the only one who did not succeed in converting his kick into a goal to give Italy the world title for the first time in 24 years.
The 2010 edition witnessed a penalty kick that changed the history of a country and a continent at the same time, as Ghana had a chance to become the first African team to play a semifinal, but its striker Asamoah Gyan missed a penalty in overtime of their match against Uruguay in the quarterfinals, after Uruguay striker Luis Suarez deliberately took the ball out of the goal with his hand, to receive a red card, then both teams went to the penalty shootout.
During the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Costa Rica caused a surprise of a high calibre and continued their adventure by displacing Greece in the Round of 16, and looked difficult when they faced the Dutch and the match ended in a goalless draw and the two teams resorted to penalties. In the penalty shootout, Dutch coach Louis van Gaal made an unexpected technical tactic, when Jasper Cillessen was replaced by substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul, who shone and led his country to the semifinals for the fifth time in their history.
In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, England sought to avoid failure in the penalty shootout against Colombia and not to repeat the scenarios of Italy 1990, France 1998, and Germany 2006, but Jordan Pickford, the Everton goalkeeper, played a heroic role by blocking the kicks of Matos Uribe and Carlos Bacca, and led his country to victory.
Source: QNA
