The World Cup means multifaceted thrill and excitement. This thrill takes another dimension especially going into the knockout stage. The last sixteen of the World Cup in Qatar also saw a tight fight. Both matches were decided by tiebreaks. Where two goalkeepers became heroes.
Croatia's Dominik Livakovic became the hero by saving a penalty against Japan, while Morocco's goalkeeper Yassin Bounu made history against Spain. While not a villain by scoring a tiebreaker goal, there is a great chance to be a hero by saving a goal. Check out some of the thrilling penalty save stories:
In the 1982 World Cup semi-finals, Harald Schumacher saved two French penalties to help Germany reach the final. However, Schumacher was not supposed to have a chance to save his team that day. On that day, Schumacher seriously fouled French defender Patrick Battiston. Certainly a red card offence, but the referee didn't care. After the extra time, the match was tied in a tiebreak. Where Schumacher became the hero by stopping Maxime Bossis and Didier Six's penalty to take the country to the final. However, West Germany lost 3–1 to Italy in the final.
There was a controversy about making him the goalkeeper in the World Cup. Germany's 2002 World Cup final hero Oliver Kahn was still playing. However, coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced Lehmann as the first goalkeeper instead of Kahn. Which he repaid in the quarter final against Argentina. Lehmann saved Roberto Ayala and Esteban Cambiasso's penalties by jumping to the right of each spot kick. However, Germany's World Cup journey stopped in the semi-finals.
Ricardo v England (2006)
Ricardo became Portugal's hero by stopping a penalty shot in the quarter-finals against England in Euro 2004. The English got their revenge two years later at the World Cup. However, the English could not overcome Ricardo's barrier of service. In that match, Ricardo became the first goalkeeper in World Cup history to save three penalties. Where he blocked shots from Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
Tim Krul vs Costa Rica (2014)
Netherlands coach Louis von Gaal gave a great surprise in the extra time of the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals. Jesper Klaassen replaced Tim Krul as the penalty specialist goalkeeper. This bet works great. Krul became the hero of the Dutch to reach the semi-finals by stopping the penalty with great skills. One of the most shocking stories in the history of the World Cup is Krul's substitution to prevent a penalty.
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