There isn’t a extra memorable penalty miss in World Cup historical past than the decisive kick within the 1994 closing.
That happened between and in Pasadena and though regular time and extra-time produced no objectives and have been low on high quality, the drama within the penalty shootout made up for it.
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It noticed the match end the identical manner it started: with a disastrously wayward penalty over the crossbar.
Echoing Diana Ross’ well-known flub on the opening ceremony was Italy icon and Ballon d’Or winner Roberto Baggio, whose sky-high spot-kick proved much more expensive – handing Brazil the title after team-mates Franco Baresi and Daniele Massaro had additionally missed earlier.
It was all of the extra agonising for the person often known as the Divine Ponytail, as his unimaginable particular person heroics have been the rationale the Azzurri had reached the ultimate within the first place – and the torment of the second has by no means really gone away for Baggio, even all these years later.
“It’s a wound that by no means closes. Since I used to be slightly boy, I dreamt of enjoying in a World Cup closing however I by no means thought it will finish like that. I nonetheless have not really accepted what occurred: it haunts me,” he admitted years later.
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“After it occurred, I felt myself dying inside. I may solely consider the response of my countrymen. It has affected me for years and I nonetheless dream about it. If I may erase one second from my profession, it will be that one.”