Argentina's shootout supremacy

December 18, 2022 -- Lusail Stadium. More than 88,000 spectators in the stands were on the verge of holding their breath, while millions of football fans around the world stared fixedly at their television screens. In the middle of the pitch stood a group of battle-weary warriors. After regulation and extra time, the scoreboard showed a 3-3 deadlock.

When that epic Qatar World Cup final went to penalties, the entire world’s attention turned to Argentina’s goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez, standing beneath the goalpost. France’s players seemed to lose their composure in the face of his psychological games. Martínez dived to deny Kingsley Coman’s shot, and Aurélien Tchouaméni, rattled, sent his effort wide. Then Gonzalo Montiel’s strike rippled the net, confirming that the most coveted golden trophy in football’s grandest spectacle was finally going into Lionel Messi’s hands.

Ending 36 years of longing, Argentina’s third World Cup triumph was not only a celebration of football’s beauty but also proof of their razor-sharp mental strength in penalty shootouts. And statistics suggest that in the World Cup’s so-called lottery of penalties, the Albiceleste hold an unofficial reign.

How the tiebreaker came about

In the knockout stage of the World Cup, if a match remains unresolved after regulation and extra time, the result is decided through a penalty shootout. FIFA first introduced this rule in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, though it was applied for the first time in the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

The first shootout in World Cup history took place in the semifinal between then-West Germany and France. After 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time, the match remained tied at 3-3. Ultimately, after plenty of drama, West Germany won the penalty shootout 5-4.

Argentina’s dominance in the battle of nerves

Since the introduction of shootouts, Argentina have participated in the most in World Cup history, taking part in seven out of the 35 shootouts played so far and winning six of them.

The journey began in 1990, when goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea became a hero by saving two penalties each against Yugoslavia in the quarterfinal and Italy in the semifinal. Victories against England in 1998 and the Netherlands in 2014 sustained that dominance. However, in 2006 they fell short against Germany in the quarterfinals -- Argentina’s only defeat in a World Cup shootout.

But the 2022 Qatar World Cup marked the pinnacle of the Albiceleste’s penalty legacy. Through the superhuman brilliance of “Dibu” Martínez, Argentina secured dramatic shootout victories over the Netherlands in the quarterfinal and France in the epic final, becoming only the second team to win two shootouts in a single World Cup.

Germany and Croatia’s perfect records

Although Argentina have the most shootout wins, Germany (including West Germany) and Croatia hold the record for the most appearances with a perfect winning rate in World Cups.

Germany have won all four of their shootouts. After their first victory against France in 1982, they maintained the streak against Mexico in 1986, England in 1990, and Argentina in 2006. Interestingly, out of 18 penalties taken in those shootouts, Germany missed only one -- Uli Stielike’s miss in 1982.

Croatia, meanwhile, have also won all four of their shootouts -- two in the 2018 World Cup and two in 2022. Inspired by the heroics of goalkeepers Danijel Subašić and Dominik Livaković, they defeated Denmark, Russia, Japan, and Brazil one after another.

The festival of shootouts in Qatar

In World Cup history, the tournaments in Italy (1990), Germany (2006), Brazil (2014), and Russia (2018) each saw four penalty shootouts. However, the most recent tournament in Qatar in 2022 overturned all previous records, as the football world witnessed a record five shootouts.

Interestingly, although the 1978 Argentina World Cup was the first tournament after the shootout rule was introduced, it remains the only World Cup in history where not a single match went to penalties.

Spain’s circle of defeat

Spain hold the unwanted record for the most defeats in World Cup shootouts. They have taken part in five shootouts and lost four of them. In fact, in the Round of 16 in 2022 against Morocco, they failed to score a single goal. Spain thus became only the second team in World Cup history -- after Switzerland in 2006 -- to fail to convert any penalty in a shootout. Their only victory came in the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, against Ireland.

Italy are the only nation to have been eliminated via penalties in three consecutive World Cups -- in 1990, 1994, and 1998. Their defeat to Brazil in the 1994 final in the United States was the first penalty shootout to decide a World Cup final. However, Italy finally broke that cursed cycle by defeating France in the 2006 final.

Like Italy, both England and the Netherlands have tasted the bitterness of defeat in three of their four shootouts. England lost three in a row in 1990, 1998, and 2006 before finally ending their 28-year heartbreak by beating Colombia in 2018. The Netherlands lost to Brazil in 1998 and Argentina in 2022. And although they beat Costa Rica in the quarterfinals in 2014, they were again defeated by Argentina in the semifinal.

The longest and shortest shootouts

The longest shootouts in World Cup history saw a total of 12 penalties taken. This happened in the West Germany vs France match in 1982 and the Romania vs Sweden match in 1994.

On the other hand, the shortest shootouts occurred twice -- in 1986 (Germany vs Mexico) and 2006 (Ukraine vs Switzerland), where only seven penalties were taken.

The tragic witness of three shootouts

In World Cup history, Roberto Baggio remains a unique yet painful figure. He is the only footballer to have faced shootouts in three different World Cups -- in 1990, 1994, and 1998. Yet his team Italy failed to overcome the challenge each time.

Baggio scored in the shootouts against Argentina in 1990 and France in 1998. But the 1994 final left the deepest scar on his career. After producing magical football throughout the tournament to carry Italy to the final, his decisive penalty in the title-deciding shootout against Brazil sailed incredibly over the bar. In that instant, Italy’s dream of world glory turned into a tragic ending.

An impenetrable fortress under the goalpost

In World Cup shootouts, four legendary goalkeepers have turned the goalpost into an almost impenetrable fortress. West Germany’s Harald Schumacher, Argentina’s Sergio Goycochea, and Croatia’s Dominik Livaković and Danijel Subašić share the record for the most saves in shootouts, with four each.

Only three goalkeepers have managed to save three penalties in a single shootout. Portugal’s Ricardo first achieved the feat against England in 2006. Later, Croatia’s Subašić repeated it against Denmark in 2018, and Dominik Livaković stunned Japan in 2022 by saving three penalties.