Did we see the worst miss in the history of football at the weekend?

Analysis

FT Desk

The goal is gaping, there is nobody around you, the ball sits perfectly waiting to be smashed home.

We've all been there, when you think a goal is a foregone conclusion, only to see your shot blasted wide or over the crossbar.

It can happen to professional players, too.

There have been some infamous football misses over the years. One of the worst came from Chris Iwelumo for Scotland against Norway in 2008. With the goal almost completely open, Iwelumo somehow missed from just a few yards out. The moment became particularly memorable because it was a crucial World Cup qualifier, while the picture of his face following the miss became a source of amusement for many.

Another famous miss came from Ronny Rosenthal of Liverpool against Aston Villa in 1992. Rosenthal rounded the goalkeeper and appeared to have an empty net, but somehow sent his strike off the crossbar. It is still remembered as one of the Premier League's classic open-goal misses.

Fernando Torres also had a memorable open-goal miss while playing for Chelsea against Manchester United in 2011. After rounding the goalkeeper, Torres had the freedom of Old Trafford to pass into an empty net but fired the ball wide.

Who could forget Nwankwo Kanu’s miss in 2004, too? In a game between West Brom and Middlesbrough, the Nigerian basically found himself directly underneath the crossbar, waiting to tap a finish home, but somehow conspired to send his attempt over the bar. It was almost impossible to do!

Even Premier League legends like Sergio Aguero and Luke Modric were left red-faced on a couple of occasions. The Argentine missed an open goal at the back post versus Chelsea, while the Croatian dinked a dodgy attempt over the bar with the goalkeeper nowhere in sight in his Spurs days.

How has he missed? 😳

Luis Vázquez somehow puts the ball over the bar from close range! pic.twitter.com/d1PFFJ2mIe

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 12, 2026

All of these pale in comparison to what we saw at the weekend between Derby and Birmingham in the Championship, however.

With the scoreline set at 2-1 to Birmingham with just a couple of minutes remaining, the ball dropped to Luis Vazquez at the back post.

He had all the time in the world to simply stab a strike home but he looped his attempt over the bar. What makes this one probably the worst is that the ball wasn't travelling at high pace, and he could even have taken a touch before firing it home.

Luckily for him, Birmingham won anyway...