World Cup 2026: What’s up with penalties – time to end ‘stuttering’?

Whether France’s World Cup campaign ends with a third world title or not, few will remember Kylian Mbappe’s penalty miss in the quarter-final victory over Morocco.

The match was goalless in Foxborough when Mbappe fouled Nousair Mazraoui. The France captain stuttered in his run, looked at goalkeeper Yassin Bounou and saw his tame penalty easily saved.

Mbappe made amends on the hour mark when his sensational curling effort broke a stubborn Moroccan defence, before Ousmane Dembele doubled France’s lead six minutes later. Ensure a 2-0 win.

But his earlier mistake, unusual for the joint-top scorers at this tournament, begs the question: Is it time to stop players from ‘stuttering’ penalty kicks?

On the list of things football traditionalists hate about the modern game, short-sleeved shirts, diving and, of course, players wearing gloves with Video Assistant Referees (VAR) as well as stuttering run-ups are high.

There is no strict definition of stuttering, but according to FIFA rules, a The player is allowed to stop or feint During the run-up unless they do so directly before kicking the ball.

It’s nothing new – John Aldridge, Mexico legend Hugo Sanchez and Pele have all used stuttering to gain an advantage – but it can backfire spectacularly if the goalkeeper doesn’t commit to diving early.

Mbappe joins Bruno Guimaraes, Jorgen Strand Larsen, Lionel Messi and Harry Kane (although he was able to recover his penalty against Croatia, which he scored without stuttering in his approach) in missing penalties after stuttering in the run-up.

Of the 26 ‘stuttering’ penalties taken during this World Cup – including penalty shootouts – 11 were not scored, resulting in a conversion rate of 57%.

Ian Wright said on ITV, “It seems like a stuttering penalty. The goalkeepers seem to have a march on it now.”

Marko Arnautovic, Raul Jimenez, Neymar, Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Yowen Wisa and Kai Havertz have all used the technique successfully.

Meanwhile, 24 of the 35 ‘non-stutter’ penalties taken have been scored, with a conversion rate of 68%.

In general, it was a poor World Cup for players looking to convert from 12 yards.

A total of 30% of non-shootout penalties have been missed this summer, the second most of any World Cup since its inception in 1966.

When shootout penalties are added to the equation, the miss rate rises to 35%, the highest in any World Cup since 1966.

Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live, “There’s an arms race. It’s definitely harder to score from penalties now. The reason is, goalkeepers are bigger now, more athletic.”

“If your keeper goes the right way, you must hit the side netting with speed, but it can still be saved.

“A very good punishment is no longer guaranteed, so you have to rethink it. I have to make sure he’s going the wrong way, so stuttering, you’re trying to send them the wrong way.

“Obviously the goalkeepers have information, they know what everyone does, there’s nothing to hide what you like because it shows. It’s a constant battle to understand how you get the advantage.

“Mbappe knows what his advantage is: preparation. He has a set-up (holding the ball before taking the penalty), he crossed it twice today but the problem is he had to cross it three times and the third time (he missed).”