Original 1976 penalty {{quotebox |width=35% |quote="I saw myself as an entertainer and I saw this penalty as a reflection of my personality. I wanted to give the fans something new to see, to create something that would get them talking."
Antonín Panenka came to international prominence playing for
Czechoslovakia in the
1976 European Championship; Czechoslovakia reached the
final, where they faced
West Germany. After
extra time, the result was 2–2, and so the first
penalty shootout in a European Championships final ensued. The first seven kicks were converted, until West Germany's fourth penalty taker,
Uli Hoeneß, ballooned his shot over the bar. With the score 4–3, Panenka stepped up to take the fifth Czechoslovak penalty, which would win the match if he scored. He
feigned shooting to the side of the goal, causing West German goalkeeper
Sepp Maier to dive to his left, and then gently chipped the ball into the middle of the net. The perceived impudence of the shot, in addition to its success, led a watching French journalist to dub Panenka "a poet". The goal was very widely reported on, and Panenka's name became synonymous with the technique. After the game, Panenka was told that he could have been punished if he missed, as it may have been seen as disrespecting the
Communist system in place at the time in his home country. On viewing the penalty,
Pelé described Panenka as being "either a genius or a madman". In the finals of the
1982 World Cup, Panenka scored twice from penalties, but these were the only Czechoslovak goals, and the team did not progress beyond the first group stage.
Notable subsequent successful examples Panenka's penalty has since been successfully emulated by many other players in a wide range of competitions. Only a small number of these have been, like Panenka's original, in major cup finals: •
Zinedine Zidane in the
2006 FIFA World Cup Final. •
Eden Hazard in the
2019 EFL Cup final. •
Odsonne Édouard in the
2020 Scottish Cup final. •
Fabinho in the
2022 EFL Cup final. Examples of
panenkas outside finals include: •
Marcelo Carrusca for
Adelaide United against
Wellington Phoenix during the
2013–14 A-League. •
Aaron Ramsey for Wales in their
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification qualification 1–1 draw against Serbia in Belgrade. His goal was in front of the same stand as Panenka's original, in the
Red Star Stadium. •
Francesco Totti for Italy in their
Euro 2000 semi-final shoot-out against the Netherlands. •
Hélder Postiga for Portugal in their
Euro 2004 quarter-finals shoot-out against England. •
Sebastián Abreu for Uruguay in their
2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final shoot-out against
Ghana. •
Andrea Pirlo for Italy in their
Euro 2012 quarter-final shoot-out against England. •
Lionel Messi in a
UEFA Champions League game for
Paris Saint-Germain against
RB Leipzig in 2021. •
Karim Benzema for
Real Madrid against
Manchester City in a UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2022. •
Achraf Hakimi for Morocco in their
2022 FIFA World Cup round of 16 shoot-out against Spain. •
Santiago Rodriguez for
New York City FC against
FC Cincinnati in the first round of the
2024 MLS Cup playoffs. •
Cole Palmer for
Chelsea FC against
Tottenham Hotspur FC in the 24/25
Premier League season. •
Mauro Icardi in a
UEFA Champions League game for
Galatasaray against
FC Bayern Munich in 2023. Among other players,
Sergio Ramos is well known for his penchant on regularly using the
panenka, most notably during the
Euro 2012 semi-finals against Portugal, and his penalties have been praised by Panenka himself.
Notable subsequent unsuccessful examples Attempted
panenkas are often unsuccessful. In the
2019 A-League Grand Final Perth Glory player
Brendon Santalab, who had scored multiple
panenkas previously in his career, played his last game as a professional. The match ended in a penalty shootout between Sydney FC and Santalab's club Perth Glory. With Sydney FC leading 3–1, Santalab took Perth's third penalty, attempting a
panenka, but Sydney FC goalkeeper
Andrew Redmayne was expecting it. The keeper stood upright and easily saved the weak kick. Sydney FC scored their next penalty, winning the shootout and the A-League Championship 4–1. In 1992, former England captain
Gary Lineker failed a
panenka which at the time, would have put him level with
Bobby Charlton for the England team's top scorer, the missed penalty instead leaving him one goal behind on 48 for the rest of his career. In a 2013 Copa do Brasil quarter final match on 24 October between
Corinthians and
Grêmio which went to a penalty shootout,
Alexandre Pato attempted a panenka, which was easily caught by Grêmio goalkeeper and former Milan teammate
Dida, resulting in Gremio winning the shootout and advancing to the semi-finals. On 4 July 2024, during the
2024 Copa América quarterfinal match between Argentina and Ecuador,
Lionel Messi missed the opening kick of the penalty shootout when he attempted a
panenka. The chip fooled the Ecuadorian goalkeeper, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced up and back, finally landing on the top of the net. Argentina nevertheless won the penalty shootout 4–2. A few days later, during the tournament's third-place match between Canada and Uruguay,
Alphonso Davies missed the fourth kick of the penalty shootout when he attempted a
panenka. The chip convinced the Uruguayan goalkeeper to dive to his left, but the ball hit the crossbar. With that miss, Uruguay ended up winning the penalty shootout 4–3. On 18 January 2026 in the
AFCON final between
Morocco and
Senegal, after Senegal left the pitch when a controversial penalty was awarded to Morocco deep in stoppage time,
Brahim Díaz attempted a
panenka which was easily saved by
Édouard Mendy, ultimately costing them the game (though Senegal's win was later overturned and awarded to Morocco by the CAF). == References ==