It has been a world cup of shocks. The Qatar world football spectacle has set a few records, and one of them was a treat of missed or saved penalties taken by Japan and Spain, two teams touted as contenders to go all the way.
The Japanese and the Spanish proved themselves to the most pathetic when their players were put in the penalty-taking spotlight.
From the Land of the Rising Sun, the Blue Samurai were knocked out in the round of 16 after missing three spot kicks against Croatia, in one of the worst shoot-outs in the history of the World Cup.
And not to be outdone were the 2010 World Cup champions Spain, also missing three kicks during the shoot-out drama, an epitome of the 31st and 32nd games of the knock-out stage, with both matches having at least half the attempts missed.
It happens to the best of world stars. Argentina’s legendary Maradona missed his kick at Italia ’90 against Yugoslavia but went on to win the match 3-2 in the quarterfinals stage.
On African soil, when the continent was pinning its hopes on Ghana beating Uruguay during extra time, top Black Stars striker Asamoah Gyan missed with the scoreboard at 1-1 towards the end of extra time.
The penalty was awarded after the notorious striker Luis Suarez deliberately handled the ball with his hands up in the air, thus preventing Dominic Adiyiah from scoring the winner for Ghana but Gyan, popular for being a talisman penalty taker, shot straight at the crossbar.
Gyan’s miss gave Uruguay 4-2 penalty shootout victory, dashing Africa’s aspirations of realising her long-held dream of a maiden, first ever World Cup semi-finalist.
Gyan’s misfortune has dogged the Ghanaian after his country bowed out in the last 16 round in Qatar, against the same Uruguay, when Andre “Dede” Ayew missed a penalty to see Ghana sorrowfully knocked out after a 2-0 defeat.
What went wrong for Japan after the extra-time 1-1 stalemate? Japan’s penalty takers visibly did not exert power or the run before striking the ball, specifically Takumi Minamino’s lackadaisically weak shot saved by heroic Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic, their warrior to this day.
The Japanese dreadful technique was their 3-1 penalties downfall, and many are of the view the atmosphere was overwhelming, but how did they manage an incredible turnround against Spain to reach the knockout stage and finishing on top of their group?
But most significantly, no one can seriously tell me both Japan and Spain, seasoned campaigners at the World Cup over the years, did not practice penalty-taking skills.
So, what led to Spain’s fall from grace? Shocking, even after their coach Luis Enrique implored them, their homework was to take 1 000 penalties in practice with their clubs. But trusted and experienced captain Sergio Busquets, the taker of the third kick, failed to score, leading his country to a 3-0 defeat to Morocco, the first Arabic team to reach the quarterfinals.
In the remaining games, a repeat of the horrendous spot-kick taking should not be allowed.
We’ll be watching!
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