What is a Panenka in Football?

In football, a "Panenka" is a method of shooting from penalty kicks. It is achieved by running up to the ball at a high speed, the player feigning as if they are going to shoot with power, only to suddenly slow down and delicately "chip" the ball into the middle goal instead, by making contact with the ball quickly on the underside of the ball.

If a Panenka goes to plan, the goalkeeper, expecting a powerful strike based from the regular run-up to the kick, will dive to either side of his goal, whilst the ball goes in straight down the middle.

The Panenka is viewed as an incredible act of showmanship when converted successfully, but can be a terribly embarassing way to miss a penalty should it go awry.

Who Did The First Panenka Penalty In Football?

The Panenka technique has its origins entrenched in the 1976 European Championship final, contested between Czechoslovakia and West Germany.

With the two nations unable to be separated after 120 minutes of football, the showpiece game went to penalties. Czechoslovakia converted all of their first four, and when Uli Hoeneß sent the German’s fourth penalty over the bar, Bohemian Prague midfielder Antonin Panenka stepped up, looking to claim his country a first major tournament victory.

Happy 72nd birthday to Antonin Panenka.

This will never catch on pic.twitter.com/qC4va60PCo

— When Football Was Better (@FootballInT80s) December 2, 2020

Penalties were very predictable at the time - strike it hard, and aim away from the middle of the goal. What Panenka did next shocked the world, and shook the very foundations of what it meant to take a penalty.

Instead of striking the ball with his laces, his foot decelerated at the last moment. Sepp Maier, a German icon and one of the best stoppers in the world at the time, was as surprised as everyone else - expecting Panenka to pick a side, he dived, and despairingly looked back as the ball floated down the middle of the goal and into a virtually empty net.

The penalty won Czechoslovakia the Euro’s, but it did so much more than that - it forced the football world to reimagine penalties, and the technique of the decisive spot kick was even christened with the name of the man who had “invented” it. Thus, the Panenka penalty was born.

How To Score A Panenka In Football

The fundamentals are simple: step back, anticipate that the goalkeeper will dive, expecting you to lash it into the top corner, and slow down at the last minute, instead sending a delicate chip down the middle of the goal while the keeper preemptively dives out of the way.

Panenka away to Spurs. It doesn't get better than this. 😮‍💨#CFC | #TOTCHE pic.twitter.com/S3zdTgRNCD

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 8, 2024

However, doing this successfully is not as easy as it may seem. Along with chipped penalties, efforts down the middle of the goal have been on the rise, and nowadays, goalkeepers sometimes wait in the middle of the goal to catch an unlucky taker off guard.

If a goalie was to do this for a panenka penalty, he wouldn’t even need to use his hands - he would have the time to chest the ball down, look around, and distribute it back out to his teammates.

Even Pele, one of the greatest to ever take to a pitch, said of the Panenka “it is the work of either a genius or a madman.” There are plenty of examples to support both sides of the argument - Messi and Ronaldo have both scored Panenka penalties, while Zinedine Zidane did so to put France ahead in the World Cup final in 2006.

A panenka in the #FIFAWorldCup Final 😳

Zinedine Zidane, #OnThisDay in 2006 😮‍💨

🇫🇷 @equipedefrance pic.twitter.com/qDKvYkaYmH

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 9, 2022

However, misses are hard to forget, and there have been plenty of those too - Andrea Pirlo, Peter Crouch, Francesco Totti and Ademola Lookman have all tried their hand at the delicate technique, and all failed miserably.

Since Aguero missed this Panenka, Pedro Neto has only scored 4 Premier League goals. pic.twitter.com/Tr0Uj0dd0q

— Ebuka (@EbukaMeansGreat) February 19, 2025

The most famous miss can be attributed to England’s Gary Lineker. Staring down Brazil goalkeeper Carlos Roberto during a friendly fixture in 1992, the English legend was presented with a golden opportunity to equal Bobby Charlton’s England goal record. Charlton had finished his career on 49, while Lineker at that moment was sitting on 48.

And the striker wanted to do it in style. Instead of smashing the spot kick-into the corner, Lineker tried to lift the ball over Roberto in goal. It almost worked - Roberto dived, but left his left leg far enough behind to trap the ball, and he would gather it at the second time of asking, leaving Lineker with his head hung.

#OnThisDay in 1992

Gary Lineker & that Panenka penalty against Brazil🤦‍♂️

🎙from John Motson pic.twitter.com/hM5C8sWxmd

— 80s&90sFootball ⚽ (@80s90sfootball) May 17, 2024

He would never tie the goal record, and ended his international career with 48 England goals from 80 caps. Failing to pull off a showboating move such as the Panenka can irreparably alter your reputation - even players with a high calibre track record have fallen at this hurdle.

The Panenka penalty is a high risk, high reward approach. Score, and you look like the classiest player alive, humiliating the keeper in the process. Should you miss, you yourself are humiliated. However, even to this day players are willing to run that gauntlet, bringing a sense of danger and risk to each and every penalty that is awarded.