Football’s 22 Greatest Penalties of All Time – Ranked from Outrageous to Iconic

October 7, 2025 Kris Isaksen

From wild walk-ups to ice-cold finishes under immense pressure, these are the most unforgettable penalties in football history. Ranked from brilliant to legendary, each one tells its own unique story of nerve, style, and sheer audacity.

22. Harry Wilson – Fulham vs Tottenham (Carabao Cup, 2023)

Wilson kicked off this list with an absolute rocket into the top corner. Fulham fans hailed it as one of the best penalties they’d ever seen—and it’s hard to argue with that kind of precision.

21. Xabi Alonso – Spain vs Argentina (2009)

Alonso’s thunderous top-corner strike in a friendly at the Vicente Calderón was untouchable. Calm, calculated, and impossible to save—just like the man himself.

20. Charles Aránguiz – Chile vs Brazil (2014 World Cup)

Aránguiz silenced a stadium full of Brazil fans with a powerful blast during a high-pressure shootout. The sound of the net and the silence that followed made it pure football theatre.

19. Ashad Ali – Maldives vs Afghanistan (2014)

Did he trip? Was it planned? Ashad Ali faceplanted during his run-up, then calmly slotted the ball home—leaving fans and the goalkeeper equally stunned.

18. Óscar Cardozo – Libertad vs Cerro Porteño (2023)

oscar Cardozo — Bruno Monico / Shutterstock.com

Cardozo, aged 39, unleashed one of the most brutal penalties ever seen—nearly sending the keeper into the net with the ball. It was his fourth goal of the night, and easily the most jaw-dropping.

17. Paul Scholes – Man Utd vs Arsenal (Community Shield, 2003)

Scholes ignored Jens Lehmann’s antics and lashed the ball into the top corner like only he could. The clean strike was vintage Scholes—technical perfection under pressure.

16. Lyle Taylor – Nottingham Forest vs Coventry City (2020)

Taylor’s trademark walk-up from outside the box is pure psychological warfare. He calmly picked his spot and scored deep into stoppage time—then added insult with a cheeky celebration.

15. Éric Bauthéac – Brisbane Roar vs Adelaide United (2019)

Eric Bautheac — Photo: Youtube/SportCady

This one barely moved. Bauthéac's ultra-slow scuffed effort somehow trickled in while the keeper just watched—it was strange, brilliant, and unforgettable.

14. Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal vs England (2006 World Cup)

After getting Rooney sent off, Ronaldo stepped up in a hostile environment and rifled home the winning penalty. His focus and fire helped send Portugal to their first World Cup semi-final in 40 years.

13. Aritz Aduriz – Athletic Bilbao vs Real Valladolid (2018)

Aduriz scored with a one-step penalty that barely looked real. Calmly stepping back with one foot and slotting the ball in—it was bold, cool, and unlike anything we’d seen before.

12. Nick Woltemade – Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest (2025)

Woltemade’s top-corner missile for Newcastle left fans and pundits stunned. Alan Shearer called it unstoppable—even if the keeper had guessed right.

11. Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool vs Chelsea (Carabao Cup Final, 2022)

Kepa tried to psyche him out by leaving one side open, and Van Dijk accepted the challenge—firing the ball straight past him into that very corner. The stare-down after said it all.

10. Joe Hart – Man City vs AS Roma (2015)

Yes, a goalkeeper! Hart thumped this penalty into the roof of the net like a goal kick. It was a pre-season game, but the power and placement were world-class.

9. Andrea Pirlo – Italy vs England (Euro 2012)

Pirlo’s Panenka left Joe Hart diving helplessly while the ball floated in. It was cheeky, cool, and summed up everything about the Italian maestro.

8. Djibril Cissé – Panathinaikos vs Panionios (2010)

Cissé’s strike was so perfect, it lodged in the top corner before falling back down. A goal of pure power and precision that deserved more hype than it got.

7. Ivan Toney – England vs Switzerland (Euro 2024)

Without looking at the ball, Toney waited, watched, and calmly slotted it in. To pull off his signature no-look technique during a Euros quarter-final? Ice in his veins.

6. Johan Cruyff – Ajax vs Helmond Sport (1982)

The legendary pass penalty. Cruyff laid it off to Jesper Olsen, got it back, and rolled it into the net—confusing everyone and rewriting the rules of penalty-taking forever.

5. Lionel Messi – Argentina vs France (2022 World Cup Final)

With the world watching and the stakes at their highest, Messi rolled the ball in after waiting for Hugo Lloris to flinch. A masterpiece of composure in football’s biggest moment.

4. Harry Maguire – England vs Italy (Euro 2020 Final)

Maguire blasted the ball so hard into the top corner, he smashed a camera. Against Donnarumma, in a final, it was a statement penalty from England’s unlikely sharpshooter.

3. Kevin Pressman – Sheffield Wednesday vs Wolves (FA Cup, 1995)

A goalkeeper with a cannon for a foot, Pressman obliterated the top corner. Andy Gray called it the best shootout penalty he’d ever seen—and he wasn’t wrong.

2. Antonín Panenka – Czechoslovakia vs West Germany (Euro 1976 Final)

The original Panenka came at the most clutch moment imaginable. With the Euro title on the line, Panenka gently chipped the ball into history.

1. Zinedine Zidane – France vs Italy (2006 World Cup Final)

In his final professional match, Zidane took the biggest gamble with a Panenka in a World Cup final. Off the bar and in—it was genius, madness, and footballing immortality in a single strike.