Penalty shootouts are one of the most dramatic moments in football. Both teams count on their goalkeepers and penalty-takers, and the finest of margins decides who goes through.

Shootouts settle knockout matches that are still level after extra time, and nothing matches the tension of a FIFA World Cup tie going to penalties after 120 minutes. There have been 39 of them at World Cups, four at the 2026 tournament.

Four goalkeepers share the record of four saves in World Cup shootouts: Harald Schumacher (West Germany, 1982 and 1986), Sergio Goycochea (Argentina, 1990), Danijel Subašić (Croatia, 2018) and Dominik Livaković (Croatia, 2022). Five more have made three.

Most penalty shootout saves in FIFA World Cup

Player Team Penalty Shootout Saves Year
Harald Schumacher West Germany 4 1982, 1986
Sergio Goycochea Argentina 4 1990
Danijel Subašić Croatia 4 2018
Dominik Livaković Croatia 4 2022
Ricardo Portugal 3 2006
Cláudio Taffarel Brazil 3 1994, 1998
Igor Akinfeev Russia 3 2018
Emiliano Martínez Argentina 3 2022
Yassine Bounou Morocco 3 2022, 2026

Saves only: penalties that hit the woodwork or missed the target are not counted.

Harald Schumacher – 4 (1982, 1986)

Penalty shootouts were brought in for the 1978 World Cup, but no match went to penalties that year.

In 1982, West Germany’s Harald Schumacher was his team’s saviour, making two saves against France in the semi-final after a 3-3 draw after extra time. West Germany then lost the final 3-1 to Italy.

Schumacher did it again in 1986, saving two more against Mexico in the quarter-final after a goalless 120 minutes. Once again West Germany fell at the final hurdle, losing 3-2 to Diego Maradona’s Argentina.

Sergio Goycochea – 4 (1990)

Sergio Goycochea started the 1990 World Cup as Argentina’s second-choice goalkeeper, and became the first to make four shootout saves at a single tournament.

Argentina’s quarter-final against Yugoslavia was goalless after 120 minutes, and Argentina won the shootout 3-2 as Yugoslavia missed three penalties: Dragan Stojković hit the crossbar and Goycochea saved the other two.

He did it again in the semi-final against hosts Italy, saving from Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena to send Argentina to the final. West Germany avenged their 1986 defeat by beating Argentina 1-0 in that final.

Danijel Subašić – 4 (2018)

Croatia’s Danijel Subašić was central to his team’s run to the 2018 final, where they finished runners-up to France.

After two clean sheets in the two group matches he played, Subašić saved three penalties against Denmark in the round of 16, then one more against hosts Russia in the quarter-final.

Croatia beat England in the semi-final, then lost the final 4-2 to France, who won their second FIFA World Cup.

Dominik Livaković – 4 (2022)

Another Croatian on the list is Dominik Livaković. In the round of 16 against Japan he saved three penalties to take Croatia into a quarter-final against favourites Brazil.

That match finished 1-1 after extra time, and Livaković saved Rodrygo’s opening penalty as Croatia scored all four of theirs to reach the semi-finals.

Three saves: Ricardo, Taffarel, Akinfeev, Martínez and Bounou

Portugal’s Ricardo made all three of his saves in one shootout, against England in the 2006 quarter-final, denying Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. Owen Hargreaves was the only England player to score.

Brazil’s Cláudio Taffarel saved from Daniele Massaro in the 1994 final shootout, which Brazil won, and from Phillip Cocu and Ronald de Boer in the 1998 semi-final against the Netherlands. Russia’s Igor Akinfeev saved from Koke and Iago Aspas to knock out Spain in 2018, then from Mateo Kovačić in the quarter-final defeat to Croatia.

Argentina’s Emiliano Martínez saved from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis in the 2022 quarter-final and from Kingsley Coman in the final shootout that won Argentina the title.

Most penalties saved in one FIFA World Cup shootout

Ricardo, Subašić and Livaković share the record for the most saves in a single World Cup shootout, with three each.

Penalty shootouts at the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 World Cup had four shootouts. Morocco’s Yassine Bounou saved Crysencio Summerville’s penalty as Morocco beat the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties in the round of 32. With his two saves against Spain in 2022, that took him to three. Justin Kluivert and Timber also missed for the Netherlands, but both were off target.

On the same day Paraguay’s Orlando Gill saved from Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade as Paraguay beat Germany 4-3 on penalties, the first time Germany had lost a World Cup shootout. Egypt beat Australia on penalties in the round of 32, and Switzerland beat Colombia on penalties in the round of 16.

Photo credit: Alamy