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World Cup 2026 last 32: A guide to penalty shootouts

BBC Reviewed Jun 29, 2026 ✓ Reviewed by citations.press editors
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The 2022 World Cup tournament featured a record five penalty shootouts.
5 · shootouts
BBC Sport and Opta, analysts
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The 2026 World Cup will include an additional round, specifically the last 32.
32 · teams in round
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A total of 320 spot-kicks have been taken across 35 penalty shootouts since 1982.
320 · spot-kicks35 · penalty shootouts
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England had missed eight World Cup shootout penalties.
8 penalties · missed penalties
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Spain missed all three of their kicks in the last 16 match against Morocco, bringing their total missed penalties to nine.
3 · missed kicks9 · total missed penalties
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Spain has lost four out of five World Cup penalty shootouts.
4 · shootouts lost5 · shootouts participated
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Several countries, including England, have lost three World Cup penalty shootouts.
3 · shootouts lost
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Argentina has won six out of their seven World Cup penalty shootouts.
6 · shootouts won7 · shootouts participated
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Germany has scored 17 out of 18 penalty kicks in World Cup shootouts.
17 · kicks scored18 · kicks taken
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Japan, Mexico, and Romania have each lost two out of two World Cup penalty shootouts.
2 · shootouts lost2 · shootouts participated
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Belgium, South Korea, and Paraguay have each scored five out of five penalty kicks in World Cup shootouts.
5 · kicks scored5 · kicks taken
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Switzerland missed all three of their penalty kicks in World Cup shootouts, scoring zero out of three.
0 · kicks scored3 · kicks taken
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Lionel Messi took seven penalties during the 2022 World Cup, with five during games and two in shootouts, missing one overall.
7 · penalties taken5 · penalties taken during games2 · penalties taken in shootouts1 · penalties missed
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Only two players, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Luka Modric of Croatia, have scored penalties in three different World Cup penalty shootouts, both maintaining a 100% success rate.
2 players · players3 · different shootouts100 · success rate
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23 players have scored two out of two penalties in World Cup shootouts, while Italy's Roberto Baggio scored two out of three, missing a crucial kick in the 1994 final.
23 · players2 · kicks scored2 · kicks taken2 · kicks scored3 · kicks taken1994 · final
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Two of the four goalkeepers with the most World Cup shootout penalty saves are from Zadar, Croatia.
2 · goalkeepers from Zadar4 · goalkeepers with most saves
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Danijel Subasic saved four spot-kicks in World Cup shootouts in 2018, having faced 10, and Dominik Livakovic saved four spot-kicks in 2022, having faced eight.
4 · spot-kicks saved10 · spot-kicks faced4 · spot-kicks saved8 · spot-kicks faced
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West Germany's Harald Schumacher saved four penalties, having faced nine, and Argentina's Sergio Goycochea saved four penalties, having faced 10.
4 · penalties saved9 · penalties faced4 · penalties saved10 · penalties faced
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Danijel Subasic, Dominik Livakovic, and Portugal's Ricardo are the only goalkeepers to have saved three penalties in a single World Cup shootout.
3 · saves in one shootout
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Portugal's Ricardo holds the highest percentage save record in World Cup shootouts, at 75%, having faced only four spot-kicks.
75 · save record4 · spot-kicks faced
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Argentina's Emiliano Martinez stopped one penalty against France in the 2022 World Cup final.
1 · penalty stopped2022 · final
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72.4% of players who place their penalty kick to the right have scored, 71.1% netting when they go left, and only 61.6% succeeding with a central kick.
72.4 · scoring success rate71.1 · scoring success rate61.6 · scoring success rate
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19.2% of central penalty kicks are saved, compared with 22.6% of penalties taken by players who pick a side.
19.2 · penalties saved22.6 · penalties saved
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19.2% of central penalty kicks miss the target (including hitting the woodwork), compared with only 5.7% of shots aimed to either side.
19.2 · kicks missing target5.7 · shots missing target
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Teams that go first in a penalty shootout have won 17 shootouts, while teams that go second have won 18 shootouts.
17 · shootouts won by team going first18 · shootouts won by team going second
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Players who take the first penalty for their team in a shootout have a scoring success rate of 72.9%.
72.9 · scoring success rate
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Players taking penalties in the second and third rounds of a shootout each have a 71.5% success rate.
71.5 · scoring success rate
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Players taking penalties in the fourth round of a shootout score 64.2% of their kicks, with this rising to 66.7% for the fifth round.
64.2 · kicks scored66.7 · kicks scored
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Only two World Cup penalty shootouts have proceeded to sudden death, with the four players who have taken sixth penalties having a 50% hit rate.
2 · shootouts to sudden death50 · hit rate4 · players taking sixth penalties
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The player who takes the eighth penalty overall in a shootout (second kicker in the fourth round) scores only 59.4% of the time.
59.4 · scoring success rate
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Forwards have the highest success rate in World Cup penalty shootouts, scoring 75% of their 100 kicks.
75 · success rate100 · kicks taken
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Midfielders have netted 67.9% of their 140 penalty kicks in World Cup shootouts, with defenders scoring 65% of their 80 kicks.
67.9 · kicks netted140 · kicks taken65 · kicks scored80 · kicks taken
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No World Cup penalty shootouts have extended beyond the sixth round of kicks.
more than 6 · rounds of kicks
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Right-footed players have a 69.5% success rate in World Cup penalty shootouts, while left-footed players have a 68.8% success rate.
69.5 · success rate68.8 · success rate
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Exactly 80% of penalties in World Cup shootouts have been taken with the right foot.
80 · penalties taken with right foot
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Only five players have been substituted on in the final five minutes of injury time specifically for a World Cup penalty shootout, three of which occurred in 2022, and only two of these five players scored.
5 · players substituted for shootout3 · players substituted for shootout2 · players scored
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Paulo Dybala scored in Argentina's penalty shootout victory over France in the 2022 World Cup final.
2022 · final
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Badr Benoun and Pablo Sarabia were substituted on in the final two minutes of Morocco's last-16 match against Spain and both missed their penalties.
2 minutes · players brought on
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England's Jamie Carragher was substituted on with two minutes remaining in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final against Portugal.
2 minutes · time remaining2006 · quarter-final
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West Germany's Pierre Littbarski scored in a 1986 World Cup quarter-final victory over Mexico.
1986 · quarter-final
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One goalkeeper has been substituted into a World Cup game in the closing stages specifically for an anticipated penalty shootout.
1 · goalkeeper substituted for penalties
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The Netherlands' Tim Krul was substituted on in the 121st minute of the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals against Costa Rica and saved two penalties in his country's win.
121 minute · substitution time2014 · quarter-finals2 · penalties saved
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The World Cup is entering the knockout stages - which means penalty shootouts are back.

The 2022 tournament had a record five shootouts - and with an extra round in 2026, the last 32, there is a good chance that gets broken again.

BBC Sport and Opta have taken a look to see what we can expect this summer.

England had missed more World Cup shootout penalties than any other nation - eight - until Spain took the unwanted crown in 2022.

La Roja missed all three kicks in the last 16 against Morocco to take their total to nine.

Spain have now lost four shootouts (out of five), which takes them past several countries on three including England.

The most successful country is, by some margin, Argentina - who have won six of their seven including in the final in Qatar.

Germany (who have scored 17 out of 18 kicks) and Croatia both won an impressive four out of four, while Japan, Mexico and Romania have lost two out of two.

The countries to score every kick are Belgium, South Korea and Paraguay (five out of five each) and only Switzerland (zero out of three) have missed all theirs.

Lionel Messi took seven penalties at the 2022 World Cup - five during games and two in shootouts - missing one

Only two players have scored penalties in three different World Cup penalty shootouts before - Argentina's Lionel Messi and Croatia's Luka Modric - who both have a 100% success rate.

One of Messi's came in the 2022 final against France.

Some 23 players netted two out of two, while Italy's Roberto Baggio scored two out of three... but the one he missed was the crucial kick in the 1994 final.

There must be something in the water in Zadar because Modric and two of the four goalkeepers to save the most World Cup shootout penalties are from Croatia's fifth largest city.

Danijel Subasic (all in 2018) and Dominik Livakovic (all in 2022) have both saved four spot-kicks in World Cup shootouts (from 10 and eight faced respectively).

West Germany's Harald Schumacher (faced nine) and Argentina's Sergio Goycochea (faced 10) have also saved four.

Subasic and Livakovic are two of the only keepers, along with Portugal's Ricardo, to save three in one shootout.

Ricardo has the highest percentage save record, with 75%, having only faced four spot-kicks.

It's not all about saves - with Argentina's Emiliano Martinez only stopping one penalty against France in the 2022 final, but some of his mind games seemed to put French players off.

Players who pick a side have a better chance of scoring than those who go down the middle - whether that is a Panenka, rolling a kick along the floor or just hitting it as hard as you can and hoping.

Of those players to put their kick to the right, 72.4% have scored, with 71.1% netting when they go left - and only 61.6% succeeding with a central kick.

There are actually fewer penalties saved down the middle (19.2% compared with 22.6% by players who pick a side).

But 19.2% of central kicks miss the target (including hitting the woodwork) compared with only 5.7% of shots to either side.

There is no obvious advantage to the team going first or second - winning 17 and 18 shootouts respectively.

It is probably not surprising that the players who go first for each team have the best success rate of scoring - 72.9%.

It only drops slightly for the second and third round of takers - 71.5% each. The fourth round of takers net 64.2% of their kicks, with it rising to 66.7% for the fifth.

Only two shootouts have gone to sudden death - with a 50% hit rate of the four players taking the sixth penalties - and none have gone beyond that.

The least successful taker (outside of sudden death) is the player who goes eighth overall - ie the second kicker in the fourth round of kicks - who only scores 59.4% of the time.

There must be a reason for that - perhaps the pressure of keeping their team in it before the final round of kicks - because the same is true of European Championship shootouts.

As you'd expect, forwards have the best success rate in World Cup penalty shootouts - 75% (out of 100).

Midfielders have netted 67.9% of theirs (out of 140), with defenders scoring 65% of the time (out of 80).

No goalkeeper has taken one yet at the World Cup, largely because mavericks like Jose Luis Chilavert, Rogerio Ceni and Hans-Jorg Butt haven't been involved in any - and no shootouts have gone past the sixth round of kicks.

There is no noteworthy difference between the success rates of right-footed players (69.5%) and lefties (68.8%). However, exactly 80% of penalties have been taken with the right foot.

It is impossible to gauge exactly who has only come on for a penalty shootout.

But if we take those who come on for the final five minutes of injury time, there are only five (three of which were in 2022) - and only two of those scored.

Paulo Dybala came on in injury time at the end of the 2022 final and scored in Argentina's shootout win over France.

In Morocco's last-16 win over Spain, both sides brought on players in the final two minutes - Badr Benoun and Pablo Sarabia - and the pair missed.

England's Jamie Carragher came on with two minutes to go against Portugal in the 2006 quarter-final and saw his kick saved by Ricardo, having initially netted but being ordered to retake as the whistle had not been blown yet.

And the other was back in 1986 with West Germany's late sub Pierre Littbarski netting in a quarter-final win over Mexico.

One goalkeeper has come on in the closing stages of a World Cup game with penalties in mind.

The Netherlands' Tim Krul came on in the 121st minute against Costa Rica in the 2014 quarter-finals - and saved two penalties in his country's win.

He remained an unused substitute in the next round - when it again went to penalties - and the Dutch went out with Jasper Cillessen not saving any kicks.

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