Brahim Diaz and the worst Panenka fails of all time

Martin Macdonald

• 19 Jan 2026 09:30 CST
• 7 min read

Nieuws

It takes a footballer with sky-high confidence to attempt a Panenka penalty in a high-profile match.

But, sometimes that confidence can go hand-in-hand with arrogance and when Panenkas don't come off, it makes the player look unbelievably foolish.

The term Panenka is named after Antonín Panenka, who scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout that decided the Euro 1976 final in Belgrade, as Czechoslovakia beat West Germany. The technique involves a game of cat-and-mouse with the goalkeeper as the taker lightly dinks the ball down the middle of the goal, hoping the stopper between the sticks dives one way or the other.

Yes, there are numerous examples of impressive Panenkas such as Zinedine Zidane's outrageous penalty in the 2006 World Cup final against France which, admittedly fortuitously, cannoned in off the crossbar.

Or, who could forget Andrea Pirlo putting Joe Hart on his backside with a dink in the Euro 2012 quarter-final between England and Italy?

If a Panenka works, you look like a genius, if it fails, you look idiotic. So, let's have a look at some of the attempts that failed.

Brahim Diaz (Morocco vs Senegal, 2026)

The most recent failed Panenka is already the most infamous.

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal was one of the most eventful continental finals of all time, with near-riots, players walking off the pitch in protest and yes, a missed last-minute penalty.

90+ 13 | 🇲🇦𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄

Panenka stopped! Brahim Díaz fails to beat the keeper#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 #UBCAFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/bpBkmbKSyg

— UBC UGANDA (@ubctvuganda) January 18, 2026

When Brahim Diaz went down inside the box in injury time following some close attention by El Hadji Malick Diouf, VAR intervened to give the penalty and the Senegal players were furious.

The away fans threatened to enter the pitch and the Senegalese were ordered off the pitch by manager Pape Thiaw.

The disruption led to a 15-minute gap between the awarding of the penalty and the eventual strike by Diaz - and, the pressure got to him, badly.

It was the last kick of the match and had it gone in, Morocco would be champions of Africa, but the Real Madrid star opted for a dink down the middle which was gathered easily by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

The stadium went silent, and Senegal would go on to win AFCON in extra-time.

Sergio Aguero (Man City vs Chelsea, 2021)

Mendy seems to be a specialist at saving Panenkas, as in 2021 he stayed firm between the sticks to save a penalty from Sergio Aguero.

In May of 2021, Manchester City were well on their way to winning the Premier League title and a win at home versus Chelsea would have done just that. At 1-0, the legendary Aguero would have sealed the championship with a converted spot kick, only to miss, leaving himself red-faced.

I knew I had seen Mendy 🇸🇳 save a panenka before. This was against Aguero a few years back #AFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/yyI75EDXS1

— Eric Njiru- #AFCON2025⚽️ (@EricNjiiru) January 18, 2026

Chelsea would go on to win 2-1, postponing Man City's title party by a week.

Aguero tweeted after the game: “I would like to apologise to my team-mates, staff and supporters for missing the penalty. It was a bad decision and I take full responsibility.”

Ademola Lookman (Fulham vs West Ham, 2020)

Players seem to be more willing to try things like an outrageous Panenka when there are no fans in the stadium to give them stick if they mess it up.

Like with Aguero, Ademola Lookman missed one in a Premier League game against West Ham in 2020 amid the Covid pandemic.

Ademola Lookman just happened to Ibrahim Diaz… one kick for his country to win the #afcon. He chose Panenka!

pic.twitter.com/CzCDNiVRoL

— Fulham FC Ghana (@FulhamGhana) January 18, 2026

He needed to score to earn Fulham a point, but his pathetic dink was easily caught by the keeper, Lukasz Fabianski, who actually had time to jump off the floor after previously diving down to his right.

Manager Scott Parker said afterwards: "I'm disappointed and angry. You can't take penalties like that and he knows that. He's a young player and he's learning.

"The boy has made a mistake. Ade is the first to understand that. When you're young and you're learning you have to learn quick. He is disappointed and rightly so. This is part and parcel of football, of growing as players and as a team. We'll get around him now."

Team-mate Harrison Reed, meanwhile, said: “He has apologised, so we will brush it under the carpet and move on."

Javier Hernandez (LA Galaxy vs Kansas City, 2022)

Javier Hernandez's confidence was high as LA Galaxy took on Kansas City in 2022. After all, he had scored a Panenka the month previous against Vancouver Whitecaps.

John Pulskamp read the mind of Chicharito. 🤯

Denied the hat trick and stoppage-time winner from the penalty spot. pic.twitter.com/Ov6zbnOiyh

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 5, 2022

However, the Mexican failed to repeat the feat versus Kansas, sending a miserable little lob down the middle of the goal that was picked up by the keeper.

To make matters worse, it was to earn a hat-trick!

Peter Crouch (England vs Jamaica, 2006)

This one is on our list mainly for the poor execution as it was during a nothing pre-World Cup friendly between England and Jamaica.

Peter Crouch scored a hat-trick in the game and even delighted Wembley with his famous robot celebration.

Long live Peter Crouch and the memory of his failed pre-World Cup Panenka against Jamaica pic.twitter.com/FqBdH0wRwk

— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) July 12, 2019

He stepped up to earn a fourth with a penalty, but sent his Panenka attempt over the crossbar, which sort of defeats the purpose of a Panenka.

Leave to to Zinedine and Andrea, Pete.

Jason Cummings (Hibs v Dundee United, 2016)

Jason Cummings is lucky that Hibs would go on to win the Scottish Cup in 2016 as he nearly blew their route to the final with a Peter Crouch-esque Panenka that sailed over the crossbar.

🎂 On Jason Cummings' birthday, here's a throwback to his rollercoaster 2016 Semi-Final appearance.

⏪ The ex-@HibernianFC striker missed a first-half penalty before scoring the winner in the shoot-out.#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/RH92MjDjC2

— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) August 1, 2024

It came in the semi-final against Dundee United and luckily for him, the Edinburgh side would go on to win the semi on penalties - in which he scored - and then Rangers in the final.

Asked why he did it, Cummings said: "With my new barnet (haircut) and that, I felt I looked more like [Andrea] Pirlo so I tried to dink it, but obviously it didn't come off."

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