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A free shot from 12 yards out, given when someone fouls inside the box. Just the taker and the keeper until the ball is struck. Conversion rate sits around 75-80% in professional football, which makes missing feel worse than it should. The mind games between taker and keeper are intense, and shootouts to decide knockout games produce some of football's most memorable agony.
Antonín Panenka's chipped penalty in the 1976 European Championship final created a legendary technique, while Roberto Baggio's miss in the 1994 World Cup final became one of football's most iconic images of heartbreak.
Robbie
Jan 25, 2026
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