Ranking every World Cup penalty from the group stages: Kane, Salah, Messi

Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton players all converted penalties during the group stages at this summer’s World Cup – but which have been the best?
Thanks to the lovely little thing known as VAR, 24 penalties have already been awarded, blowing Italia 90’s record of 18 penalties in a single tournament out of the water.
As neutrals, we all love a good penalty. Less so when it goes against our own team. What else left to do, then, other than rank every penalty to be taken in Russia so far this summer.
24. Christian Cueva v Denmark
So bad, he went off at half-time crying. Poor lad.
Ohh no🤔…second penalty ..miss by
Christian Cueva(Peru)..kick miles away..🙄🙄🤔 pic.twitter.com/AAk7qHqmof— Λтнιєѕт яσ¢к' (@AthiestR) June 16, 2018
23. Gylfi Sigurdsson v Nigeria
It’s really not much better, is it? Still, it’s not last just because it was a centimetre lower.
PENALTY! Sigurdsson stepped up.. #ISL pic.twitter.com/lxcwNDf0sr
— Master League (@MasterLeagueHub) June 22, 2018
22. Cristiano Ronaldo v Iran
It wasn’t in the corner, wasn’t even really in the middle. Class footage, though, by the way.
ALIREZA BEIRANVAND 🔥 this guy was a homeless in Tehran, after escaping his nomad family, now stops a Ronaldo penalty. In the WORLD CUP! #IRN pic.twitter.com/Nt3jD3VO7U
— BabaGol (@BabaGol_) June 25, 2018
21. Lionel Messi
The two GOATs with terrible penalties back to back. Get us out of this nightmare.
PENALTY MISSED! Messi steps up and looks to curl the penalty into the corner but Hannes springs to his right and makes a cracking save pic.twitter.com/gdbCMZ1G7E
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 16, 2018
20. Fahad Mosaed Al Muwallad v Egypt
It was tempting to put this ahead of some of the scored penalties. Some save from the ol’ lad, that.
Age ain’t nothing but a number! At 45, record-breaker Essam Elhadary saves a penalty for Egypt against Saudi Arabia.#gkunion #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/F73w541g7c
— Precision GK and Training (@PrecisionGk) June 25, 2018
19. Bryan Ruiz v Switzerland
It feels cruel to laugh. This would have made Bryan Ruiz Costa Rica’s all time leading goalscorer in World Cup competitions. Sadly, it goes down as an own goal.
GOAL! Costa Rica draw level in the closing stages through a penalty but it's a Yann Sommer own goal, with the ball finding its way in via the unfortunate keeper's back pic.twitter.com/qnfy23HCU4
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 27, 2018
18. Ferjani Sassi v England
Completely unbiased having Tunisia here, but it’s not fully in the corner and Pickford gets a touch.
A penalty scored by Sassi for Tunisia making it 1-1 at 35 minutes pic.twitter.com/ZEHDybuUXg
— GamingNetwork (@GameNetwork101) June 18, 2018
17. Shinji Kagawa v Colombia
The old ‘pass down the middle’. Just paid off, Shinji.
Shinji Kagawa gives #JPN the lead from the penalty spot, After
Carlos Sanchez second fastest red card in #WorldCup history pic.twitter.com/VA0xzMad4C— 365Scores (@365Scores) June 19, 2018
16. Salman Al-Faraj v Egypt
The first save must have taken it out of the 45-year-old. He’d had enough before this ball was struck.
GOAALLL! Saudi Arabia get back on level terms, Alfaraj burying the penalty to make it 1-1 against Egypt after a lengthy VAR review.#WorldCup #EGY #KSAEGY #KSA pic.twitter.com/rD1NFPDS2V
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 25, 2018
15. Mile Jedinak v Denmark
His second penalty of the tournament put in the exact same spot as the first. Kasper dives a bit early.
GOAL! After a VAR review for a Poulsen handball is given, Jedinak cooly slots home the penalty to get Australia back on level terms pic.twitter.com/toWvQdWgJD
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 21, 2018
14. Miles Jedinak v France
A mirror image of the Denmark penalty. But we’re big fans of the ball getting stuck in the top of the netting.
JEDINAK (AUSTRALIA) SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTS THE PENALTY
He did in the first game and he has done it again. Schmeichel is sent the wrong way and Australia draw level this after Yurary was penalised for a handball after a VAR review#RussiaInLagos #WorldCup #KweseFreeSportsNg #DENAUS pic.twitter.com/auUYmr8GN9— Obvious Media Group (@Obviousmediang) June 21, 2018
13. Carlos Vela v South Korea
Another wait for the keeper and pass it the other way penalty, but slightly more convincing than Shinji’s.
GOAALLL! Carlos Vela scores the penalty for Mexico after a Korea Republic handball
#KOR #MEX #WorldCup #KORMEX pic.twitter.com/XlE1e5cIrY
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 23, 2018
12. Cristiano Ronaldo v Iran
Slightly better than the one against Iran, Cristiano. Fair f*cks for laughing at your own club team-mate afterwards, too.
Cristiano Ronaldo stole the show with a spectacular hat-trick to ensure that Portugal and Spain shared the spoils in Match 3 of the FIFA #WorldCup. pic.twitter.com/LLG6wdG4DB
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) June 17, 2018
11. Andreas Granqvist v South Korea
Centre-backs on pennos. Yes.
One for our Swedish Traders 🇸🇪
VAR working wonders for Granqvist and #SWE , great penalty. Calm as you like 👌#FootballINDEX #WorldCup #SWEKOR pic.twitter.com/IFqnlRjRjB
— Football INDEX (@FootballIndexUK) June 18, 2018
10. Mohamed Salah v Saudi Arabia
Not a bad pen at all. Not having that run up, though.
Mohamed Salah's penalty against Russia🇷🇺 was Egypt's🇪🇬 first goal in a World Cup for 28 years ⚽️#YNWA #LFC #EGYRUS #MoSalahpic.twitter.com/q4ITDggKc2
— Roar Of The Kop (@_RoarOfTheKop_) June 19, 2018
9. Gylfi Sigurdsson v Croatia
He actually hit the roof of the net. After his miss the first time around, he’s got some b*llocks – we’ll give him that.
8. Luka Modric v Nigeria
Kissed the corner, you’re not stopping that.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS : CROATIA 2 : 1 NIGERIA
MODRIĆ seals a double for Croatia with a brilliantly taken penalty kick after a foul in the box on Mandzukic by Troost-Ekong#1045SPORTS pic.twitter.com/kJQ7hy7IQE https://t.co/8qaCkCvQqw
— Empire Radio 104.5FM, Akure (@EmpireRadio1045) June 17, 2018
7. Eden Hazard v Tunisia
Puts the keeper on his backside before slotting it home. Love that.
.@FIFAWorldCup
Γκολ! @hazardeden10 με πέναλτι στο 06' ανοίγει το σκορ για το Βέλγιο 🇧🇪️ Belgium 1 – 0 Tunisia
⚽Μπες στο παιχνίδι, μπες στο https://t.co/fgacAdhlQd ⚽ #Ert1 #ERTHD #ErtHybrid #ERTwebTV #Ert_VR #ErtWordCup2108 #BEL #TUN #BELTUN pic.twitter.com/IumXvuqvRN— ΕΡΤ Α.Ε. (@ERTsocial) June 23, 2018
6. Antoine Greizmann v Australia
Side netting. Take the L, Australia.
El partido de la tecnología, donde gracias a ella Francia se alzó con la victoria frente a la selección de Australia en este partido de la #WorldCup donde Griezmann, tras un penalti anota el 1-0 en el marcador. #FRA 1-0 #AUSpic.twitter.com/YFtqmAQhQ0
— Sergett Reell (@SergettRM) June 18, 2018
5. Victor Moses v Argentina
Have you ever seen a man look less arsed about a pressure penalty than this? Decent celebration, too.
Victor Moses's Penalty , beautiful 😎😊😊 pic.twitter.com/BI58AmXiCB
— #Theguy (@Letlhog28166433) June 26, 2018
4. Harry Kane (first penalty) v Panama
We really tried to find a difference between the next two, but who cares? England have a man that knows how to take a penalty. Imagine!
3. Harry Kane (second penalty) v Panama
As we were saying…
2. Andreas Granqvist v Mexico
Looks like the type of bloke whose pint you wouldn’t want to knock over. You wouldn’t want to face him in a penalty shootout either.
#Sweden captain Andreas Granqvist buries the penalty in the top corner to double the lead against #Mexico. 2-0 now.#MEXSWE #MEX #SWE pic.twitter.com/wvxVJ5Rb7b
— Jason Foster (@JogaBonito_USA) June 27, 2018
1. Karim Ansarifard v Portugal
If you look up the definition of ‘top bin’ in the dictionary, you’ll now find this.
Karim ANSARIFARD's penalty Goal – IR Iran v Portugal pic.twitter.com/hn1bbVDfGm
— Ashraf Rahman (@ashraf_irib) June 26, 2018
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