World Cup Science: The Science Behind Penalty Shootouts
- Posted on June 30, 2026
- By Wired
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- 1 min read
World Cup Science: The Science Behind Penalty Shootouts
The World Cup last-32 ties of Germany v Paraguay and the Netherlands v Morocco have both been decided by penalty shootouts.
Paraguay’s Orlando Gill, Germany’s Manuel Neuer and Morocco’s Yassine Bounou made four saves between them across the two shootouts as Paraguay and Morocco advanced to the last-16. But can goalkeepers at the World Cup really react quickly enough to save a penalty, or is it all just guesswork?
WIRED breaks down the physics behind a perfect penalty save.