Test Your World Cup Penalty Shootout Knowledge

The significance of the fact that the 2014 FIFA World Cup is being held in Brazil should not be understated. Brazil is the most decorated national team in history with five World Cups to its name and it seems that no-one has a passion for flair-driven entertaining football like the Brazilians.

This point illustrated by the abundance of talent that has hailed from the country, from Pele, to Garrincha, to Socrates, to Ronaldo, to Ronaldinho, to Neymar, all of whom are famous for their immense skill on the ball.

This year’s World Cup is also significant because it is the first time it has been held in Brazil since 1950, and despite winning more trophies than any other nation, Brazilians old enough to remember still feel the disappointment of losing 2-1 to Uruguay in the final 64 years ago.

Not all World Cup matches are settled with 90 minutes, which has led to half an hour of extra time, as in the case of the England-Germany final in 1966, and very often to penalty shootouts as in the case of Brazil’s victory over Italy in 1994, following Robert Baggio’s penalty miss.

Despite being crowned World Player of the Year the previous year, being much-loved by Italians, and no doubt being a great player, perhaps the one thing for which Baggio will be best remembered for is that calamitous penalty miss in 1994. This is alongside Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle for their penalty misses for England against West Germany in the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup.

All football fans love to test their knowledge of the history of the sport and with this in mind, Ladbrokes have devised “The Big Penalty Quiz”, allowing you to challenge your friends on their knowledge of some of the most controversial penalties ever taken.

The format of the game is pretty simple, with questions making reference to a penalty taken by a specific player and then prompting players to answer by choosing from three clickable options: “Saved”, “Missed”, and “Scored”.

Aesthetically, the game has an 8-bit styling, making it reminiscent of games from the 1980s, with a total of 15 questions (five per person) and a point scored for each correct answer. At the end of the 15 questions, the player with the most points wins. After the results have come in, you can then share your results on social media.

To sum up the significance of the penalty shootout in the World Cup, a badly taken penalty can affect your footballing legacy and even turn you from a hero into a villain. This quiz is a great way to test your footballing knowledge and how you can challenge two of your friends to beat your knowledge of football trivia.