The penalty kick is soccer in its purest form: a ball, a goal, a kicker and a goalkeeper. You’d think that any player talented enough to represent their national team would be able to score from 12 yards. And yet, competing in a World Cup penalty shootout is as emotionally fraught a task an athlete can be asked to perform.
The shootout’s unique place in sporting drama dates back to its first instance in the tournament, the 1982 semifinal between France and West Germany (it is used to settle matches from the knockout round of 16 on). At the end of a rugged 90 minutes—plus 30 more of extra time—the goalkeepers, inexperienced in shootouts, seemed rooted to the goal line, often diving after the ball had passed them. The first player to miss in the five-round contest, German midfielder Uli Stielike, reacted by curling into a ball on the ground and then bursting into tears as he made his way back to the center circle. For the millions watching around the world, the implication was clear: Missing a penalty was a terrible fate, capable of reducing powerful professional athletes into blubbering, infantile wrecks. Penalties were scary—and we, the audience, were hooked.
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