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A penalty where you chip the ball softly down the middle, betting the keeper will dive to one side. Named after Antonín Panenka, who won the 1976 European Championship final with exactly this trick. You need serious nerve to try it - get it right and you look ice cold, get it wrong and you look like an idiot who cost your team the game.
Andrea Pirlo's Panenka against England in the Euro 2012 quarter-final was ice-cold - he chipped it straight down the middle while Joe Hart dived helplessly to his right, epitomizing the Italian's composure.
Robbie
Jan 30, 2026
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