Saka, Mbappe and the European Championship stars who missed in penalty shootouts

Cameron Smith

• 7 Mar 2024 03:45 CST
• 5 min read

A penalty shootout is the most nerve-wracking element of a knockout game, with fans, players and coaches all bound by the nail-biting feeling of being invested in the result.

Some of the world’s best ever players have missed penalties during their careers, but missing in a shootout is another level given the magnitude of what is at stake.

Furthermore, missing a penalty for your country in a tournament penalty shootout is one of the worst things that can happen to a footballer on the pitch.

However, it has happened many times in the European Championship.

How many players have missed during a penalty shootout in European Championship history?

In total, 54 players have missed in a European Championship penalty shootout during the competition’s history. The first to do so was Ulrich Hoeness in the 1976 edition, with his miss ensuring West Germany were defeated by Czechoslovakia in the final.

Fulvio Collovati was next in 1980, as he missed the decisive penalty for Italy during their third-place play-off match against Czechoslovakia.

Preben Elkjaer missed for Denmark in the 1984 semi-final, while Netherlands legend Marco van Basten fell to the same fate in 1992.

In 1996, five players missed during penalty shootouts, including Fernando Hierro, Clarence Seedorf and Gareth Southgate.

Euro 2000 was also littered with big-name stars missing during penalty shootouts, as Frank de Boer, Jaap Stam and Paolo Maldini all failed to convert from the spot.

David Beckham, Rui Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were among those to miss in 2004, while Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Antonio Di Natale were unable to score their penalties in 2008.

Six players missed in penalty shootouts during the 2012 European Championship, including Ashley Cole and Xabi Alonso. That number rose to nine for 2016, including Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil, and a tournament record 14 in 2021.

Kylian Mbappe was the only player to miss during France’s last-16 shootout defeat to Switzerland, while Sergio Busquets, Fabian Schar, Rodri, Manuel Akanji and Ruben Vargas all missed in the quarter-final penalty shootout between Switzerland and Spain.

Dani Olmo and Alvaro Morata then missed for Spain as they crashed out at the semi-final stage, before five players failed to convert their spot-kick during the penalty shootout between England and Italy in the final.

Andrea Belotti and Jorginho missed for Italy, while Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were unable to score for England, meaning Southgate’s side fell to defeat.