The tagline for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar says: “Expect Amazing”. And thus far, it hasn’t disappointed.
In more ways than one, it has been the year of the ambitious underdogs and flamboyant goalkeepers. It all started with Saudi Arabia taking down a full-blooded Argentina and Japan taking Germany down by 2-1 scorelines.
With the underdogs punching above their weights regularly, Qatar 2022 marked a new record for most games decided by penalty shootout than any other in the history of the tournament – Five.
Goalkeepers turned heroes for their sides, starting with Dominik Livakovic of Croatia, who was pivotal in two shootout wins – against Japan and Brazil.
Morocco’s magical run into the semifinal was aided by some penalty heroics by Yassine Bounou, who kept Spain at bay in the round of 16.
Emiliano Martinez, who eventually won the golden glove, was Argentina’s man Friday, as he bailed his side put in penalty shootouts twice, first in the round of 16 against Netherlands and in the final against France.
Both Livakovic and Martinez are now tied at the top for most saves in FIFA World Cup penalty shootouts, with four each, alongside Croatia’s Danijel Subasic, Argentina’s Sergio Goycochea and Germany’s Harald Schumacher.
Here is a list of all the matches that have trickled into penalty shootouts and their results, when the teams couldn’t be separated even in extra-time –
