Archive July 18, 2025

England’s victory over Sweden at Euro 2025 will be a valuable item when future football historians look back on the strangest and most extraordinary penalty shootouts of all time.

Five of the fourteen penalties were scored, six were saved, and three were missed by the Swedes. This was the football coach’s adaptation of The Exorcist, according to BBC pundit Ellen White, who was spot on about how “terrifying watching” was.

Shootouts are, of course, a terrifying prospect for any participant because they have so much on their hands and are so rife with danger of failure and embarrassment.

In the era of data and psychology-driven football coaching, the myth that penalties are a lottery has been dissipated, but even at the elite level, you can never quite predict what the pressure will bring to a player.

“Pressure is for tyres,” Alan Shearer fondly said as England’s men celebrated their shootout victory over Switzerland at Euro 2024.

England was the first team to miss three penalties in a row during a shootout and still win.

The Swiss spot-kicks’ 36% conversion rate was the worst in the series’ history, falling behind the semi-final match between Denmark and Austria in 2017.

In that penalty shootout, Denmark won with a score of 3-0; four of the seven spot kicks, including three from the Austrians, were missed.

There is only one answer for the worst shootout ever to occur on a major European stage, the 1986 European Cup final.

The Romanians won 2-0 on penalties after a tedious 120-minute battle between Barcelona and Steaua Bucharest.

Only 25% of the eight spot kicks found the net, out of which there were eight. Helmuth Duckadam, the goalkeeper for Steaua, saved each of Barca’s four attempts.

There are a number of instances where incompetence can be directly attributed to the odd outcome of that shootout, though the odd result could be attributed to goalkeeping prowess.

The Japanese Super Cup between Vissel Kobe and the Yokohama Marinos ended with a score of 3-2 to Vissel from 14 penalties, of which nine were apiece.

After both teams scored their opening two kicks, Yokohama, managed by one Ange Postecoglou, managed to miss five consecutive kicks while Vissel failed to succeed with four consecutive, eventually putting everyone in their misery.

The 1990 Copa Libertadores semi-final between Olimpia of Paraguay and Colombia’s Atletico Nacional and the 1985 Finnish Cup final, where Haka defeated HJK 2-1 after the first seven penalties from both teams were missed, are also included in some BBC Sport research.

Rene Higuita, the man of the big hair and scorpion kick, took on the same role as Swedish stopper Jennifer Falk against England in 2025, who saved four penalties but himself missed the crucial kick.

A penalty shootout is adored by many football fans. The potential glory, the twists, and the drama. But occasionally, they leave their mark.

The Liga Alef, Israel’s third tier, hosted the most egregious example in the 2023-24 promotion play-offs, of course. FC Dimona won Shimshon Tel Aviv 23-22 after taking 56 penalties overall.

Guy Eini, a Dimona player who scored three penalties in the shootout, said to Israeli media: “I’ve never had anything like this in my career. We made an effort to betray each other.

The longest penalty shootout in English professional football occurred just last season when Aston Villa Under-21s won the Football League Trophy 18-17 against Blackpool. 31 kicks were scored in succession during the shootout before the 32nd was saved, a world record.

The longest World Cup match between co-hosts Australia and France took place in 2023, with the Matildas winning 7-6 overall after 20 penalties were taken. I was there. I still remain in its grip.

Liverpool fans can recall lengthy shootouts, with two notable victories in the League Cup: 11-10 against Chelsea in the 2022 final and 14-13 against Middlesbrough in 2014, respectively.

Meanwhile, Villarreal’s 11-10 defeat leaves Manchester United’s fans with the prospect of a 2021 Europa League final, where David de Gea, the goalkeeper, was unable to make the decisive save.

The 2000 Africa Cup of Nations final between Nigeria and Cameroon takes place there as well. Victor Ikpeba, a Nigerian forward, saw his shot clearly over the line as it fell off the bar, but Cameroon won 4-3.

However, this author submits the play-offs between New York City FC and Orlando City to you in 2020 Major League Soccer. In our November that year report, we described it in this manner.

After both teams had taken four penalties, the shootout was set for 4-3 for Orlando, with Orlando’s Pedro Gallese believing that he had saved Valentin Castellanos’ penalty to make it 3-0.

However, the video assistant referee intervened and determined that Gallese had missed his line, leading to the dismissal of Gallese, who had been given a second yellow card for unnecessary time-wasting.

Brian Rowe was replaced by Orlando’s Brian Rowe, but the referee called it out and sent him off the field as he stood on the goal line for the retake.

Rodrigo Schlegel, an Argentine defender, chose to take the gloves.

On his second try, Castellanos scored to end the shootout, but Nani and Orlando both saved their penalty.

Before Schlegel’s heroics, when he saved Gudmundur Thorarinsson’s attempt, both teams scored, making it 5-5 before the game was over, unaware that the shootout was still being played.

Benji Michel’s goal was the play-off victory of Orlando, 6-5.

Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk in the second round

Wembley Stadium, London Date: Saturday, July 19th,

Chaos, maturity, and confidence.

Daniel Dubois and those who surround him during fight week have said those three words more than once.

Dubois is gearing up for the anticipated triumph of his career when he squares off against Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday in a rematch at Wembley Stadium.

IBF champion Dubois dared to dream when he traveled to Poland just before the end of the ninth-round defeat against Usyk.

Dubois has since rebuilt his career with three straight victories, including a stunning knockout victory over Anthony Joshua.

If Dubois can defeat WBA (Super), WBO (Super), and WBC (Super) champion Usyk, he will become the first British fighter to unify the heavyweight division during the four-belt era and the first to win on home soil.

Many, to be exact, have attempted to crack the Usyk code, but none have succeeded.

Usyk was simply unworthy.

In almost every metric, the Ukrainian won.

Dubois and his team left Poland feeling unfair despite losing the contest.

Usyk was floored in the fifth round, but it was ruled that it was a minor blow, so the 38-year-old had almost four minutes to recover.

When the action resumed just 22 seconds into the round, Usyk was strong, scoring it for him in his favor by two of the three judges.

When the fighters met at a press conference before their rematch in April, Dubois’ trainer Don Charles made reference to the minor blow.

Charles alleged Usyk to have “coined the referee” and said he “should be given an Oscar for that performance.”

It’s just blah, blah, blah, blah, empty words, Usyk said to BBC Sport.

The fighter’s physiologist Jakub Chycki claims the fighter’s core is “very strong,” while Usyk’s team insists there is no risk of Dubois exploiting the body.

Usyk even made fun of it during his opening session at BoxPark Wembley on Wednesday, when he was repeatedly hit in the stomach by his training partners.

When stopping Jarrell Miller in round 10, Dubois landed a career-high 208 punches, 50 of which were to the body.

Filip Hrgovic came next, but despite the drop in overall output, he still regularly targeted the body, allowing 17 shots in eight rounds.

In the past two years, Dubois and trainer Charles have forged a strong partnership.

They have shared four fights and six camps, with Dubois having been scheduled to face Joseph Parker in February but giving two days’ notice due to illness.

According to BBC Radio 5 Live boxing analyst Steve Bunce, “the relationship isn’t just what happens in the corner.”

When you spend 10 or 15 minutes with a fighter, 10 or 15 minutes of sitting in a field for 20 minutes while feeding the horses at their gym, that’s how you form bonds.

In the first fight, Charles kept repeating the phrase “second phase,” which meant he wanted a follow-up to the jab to stop Usyk from escaping, and it has been repeated in fight week.

Dubois has thrown 44.3 punches per round in his 24-fight career, down from 34.1 against Usyk.

At the beginning of the maneuver, Dubois will face Usyk, who is four feet to the left, before suddenly moving another four feet and striking him three times, according to Bunce.

Dubois’ intention is not to throw more, but to increase its range.

40, 000 boisterous, primarily Ukrainian fans greeted Dubois when he left Wroclaw’s Tarczynski Arena in 2023.

Dubois lost in his biggest fight of his career, but it was on a different level.

It’s a dangerous game that Dubois allowed Usyk to enter the ring’s center, establish his jab, and settle into a rhythm.

There is a contention that Dubois’ initial encounter with Usyk was premature. Although his CV didn’t include well-known players, he was running out of division rivals.

The Londoner’s confidence increased significantly as a result of his subsequent victories over Miller, Hrgovic, and Joshua, who convinced him more than ever that time was running out.

Dubois told BBC Sport, “My entire approach is just to seek and destroy, bring chaos, and get the victory – seize the moment.”