World Cup best and worst penalty shootout records

It’s not an eventuality that any side looks forward to (particularly not England). Still, penalty shootouts in the World Cup are a very real possibility and an event in which only the greatest tend to prevail consistently.

Ahead of the anticipated FIFA World Cup in Qatar this winter, we have looked at the teams with the best and worst all-time World Cup penalty shootout records.

When it comes down to penalty shootouts, many say that luck plays a huge part in the result and that it is a 50/50 gamble on which side will emerge victorious. This could be the case, but there are plenty of sides that have won almost all of their shootouts and many that have lost most of theirs.

Is this luck? Or is there a knack that some teams have worked out and others haven’t? We investigate below.

Best World Cup Penalty Shootout Record

It could only be one of the best World Cup teams of all time that could claim the title for the best penalty shootout record, as consistently making it to the knockout rounds and winning is not something that many countries over the years have managed to do.

Germany and Argentina hold the best World Cup penalty shootouts, both with four wins.

Germany have won all four of the four penalty shootouts they have participated in at the World Cup. Their victory over the 1990 England squad in the semi-finals is one that isn’t easily forgotten.

They went on to beat Argentina in the 2006 quarters, having previously triumphed against France in the 1982 semi-finals and Mexico in the 1986 quarter-finals.

Argentina’s record is almost as impressive, having won four of the five they played in, their only loss in a World Cup penalty shootout coming against Germany in the 2006 quarter-finals, which saw a young Lionel Messi watching from the bench.

Argentina won two penalty shootouts in the same World Cup in 1990, beating Yugoslavia in the quarters and Italy in the semi-finals before losing to West Germany in the final.

It’s safe to say that England will not want to come up against either of these sides in a shootout in Qatar, and not only because they have the joint-worst shootout record in the tournament’s history!

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Worst World Cup Penalty Shootout Record

It was never going to be easy to say it, but England, Spain and Italy have the joint worse record in penalty shootouts at the FIFA World Cup.

Until 2018, England had lost all three penalty shootouts they had been in, suffering defeat at the hands of West Germany in the 1990 semis, Argentina in the 1998 round of 16 and Portugal in the 2006 quarter-finals in a match that saw many England fans turn against Cristiano Ronaldo, the scorer of the winning penalty.

Spain also have a record of three penalty shootout wins and one loss. Their losses came against Belgium in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, and again at the same stage against South Korea in 2002. Prior to that 2002 defeat they had defeated the Republic of Ireland from the spot in the last 16.

Their most recent disappointment from 12 yard came against hosts Russia in 2018, where Koke and Aspas both missed their spot kicks.

Italy join England and Spain as the worst penalty shootout takers in World Cup history and have also tasted defeat against Argentina, losing to them in the 1990 semi-finals. They then went on to lose to Brazil in the 1994 final and France in the 1998 quarter-finals.

Italy last won a shootout in the 2006 final, taking revenge on France, who had beaten them eight years before. England, after losing three in a row, finally found a way to win a shootout in 2018, when defeating Colombia, and Three Lions fans will hope it won’t be the last.

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