World Cup Shootout Penalties: Substitute Successes and Keeper Comebacks

Penalty shootouts in World Cup matches often feature dramatic twists when substitutes become key players. Outfield players entering in the final five minutes of stoppage time are rare occurrences, with only seven recorded instances since the modern World Cup era began—five of which have occurred since 2022. Of those, only three have managed to score, highlighting the immense pressure such late entries carry.

This past summer, two notable cases saw players introduced in stoppage time during extra-time final minutes without making contact before the whistle. Paraguay’s Fabian Balbuena stepped up in the last-32 shootout against Germany, but his attempt was saved by Manuel Neuer. Despite his miss, Paraguay advanced. Similarly, Egypt’s Mahmoud Saber converted his first penalty in a shootout win over Australia, with the opposing goalkeeper still untouched by a shot at that moment.

Another historic example comes from the 2022 final, where Argentina’s Paulo Dybala entered after the 120-minute mark and scored during the shootout that secured victory over France. That year also saw both teams introduce late replacements in Moroccos encounter with Spain—Badr Benoun and Pablo Sarabia—who both missed their attempts during the tense extra-time contest.

One of the earliest recorded cases involved West Germany’s Pierre Littbarski, who came on in the 1986 quarter-final against Mexico and scored, making him the first player to enter during the final five minutes of extra time and convert a shootout penalty. His goal remains a historical footnote in World Cup shootout history.

The phenomenon extends to goalkeepers surfacing as surprise penalty-takers. The Netherlands’ Tim Krul dramatically entered late in the 2014 quarter-final against Costa Rica, successfully saving two penalties to secure his team’s progression. However, he remained unused in subsequent rounds, as the Dutch ultimately exited via shootouts without Cillessen saving any attempts. More recently, Australia’s Mat Ryan was substituted with shootout intentions, but Egypt’s forwards ensured Ryan never faced a kick.

While Krul was informed of the substitution plan beforehand, Ryan revealed only moments before dialing back that he would be introduced specifically if the match concluded via penalties. These late additions underscore the strategic unpredictability and human drama embedded in World Cup shootouts since their inception.

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