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Here's hoping Canada can avoid the same fateLast updated 40 minutes ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Achraf Hakimi of Morocco, right, missed scoring on this penalty shootout attempt against Netherlands on June 29, 2026, but his team went on to win the FIFA World Cup game. Photo by Luke Hales/Getty ImagesDo you want to stick a hot fireplace poker in your eyes, or do you want the Canada-Morocco World Cup match to be decided by penalty kicks?Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorIt is a tough call.For the masses of Canadians who have only recently started paying attention to this thing called international soccer, they may have noticed a peculiar quirk of the sport, which is that matches can sometimes be decided by a penalty shootout.Five players on each team take a shot from the penalty spot, 12 yards in front of goal. Most goals wins, and they keep going until a decisive kick (or miss) is made.It is harrowing. It is the sporting equivalent of leaping from a plane having been told that there is an 80 per cent chance that your chute will open. And it will always leave one team in absolute nirvana, and the other crushed. Heartbroken. Utterly bereft. It is the worst.And so, as the Canadian men’s national team gets ready to play The Biggest Game in its History, for the fifth time running, on Saturday afternoon in Houston, we say this: Please, no penalties. Pray to your preferred deity (Lionel Messi?) that Canada will not have to go through the anguish of penalty kicks. Because as enjoyable as this World Cup ride has been, that’s the kind of thing that can leave scars.In this World Cup alone, Germany and the Netherlands, two European football giants, have exited the competition after the cruel twist of penalties.The Netherlands loss, which came this week against Morocco, was a perfect example of one of the weird realities of a penalty shootout: Despite the fact that players are aiming at a very large goal — 24 feet wide by eight feet high — from not far away, it often feels as though they are trying to squeeze a shot through the equivalent of a doggy door given the stakes and the tension.The first Moroccan shooter hit the crossbar with his attempt. Then a Dutch player rattled one off the post. Then a second Dutchman, poor Quinten Timber, who looked terrified, pulled his shot so wide it might not have hit a 30-foot goal. Then another Moroccan hit the post. But, needing to score to keep the shootout going, Crysencio Summerville had his attempt blocked by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou (born in Montreal!), who somehow didn’t leave his feet and still swatted the shot away.The Dutch went from leading the shootout, to trailing it, to miraculously level again, to out of the tournament, all in the space of a few heart-in-mouth minutes. Gah. Please, no penalties.Germany’s departure was no less cruel. They had largely controlled their game against Paraguay, but in the shootout missed two kicks and handed their opponents a huge advantage. Paraguay, with two chances to seal victory, missed both, giving the Germans an unexpected lifeline.Jonathan Tah, a defender who had never taken a penalty kick before, promptly sailed his attempt over the crossbar and into about Row 25. Paraguay converted their sixth kick for the huge upset win.There have since been reports in Germany that four players declined the chance to attempt that sixth kick, which is how the inexperienced Tah ended up taking it. That only underscores the harsh reality of the exercise: the agony of missing a penalty kick far outweighs the joy of converting one.And it’s not just the sad fact of modern life, where a player who misses on that stage will reliably be swamped by abuse, often racially tinged, on social media. The last time the World Cup was played in the United States, in 1994, Italy’s Roberto Baggio, one of the best players on the planet at the time, needed to convert a kick to keep the shootout going in the final against Brazil. He blasted his attempt over the crossbar instead and ended up standing, forlorn, over the penalty spot as the Brazilians poured on to the pitch to celebrate.Baggio’s miss overshadowed the five goals he had scored to help Italy get to the final, and his career was never the same after that. He’s said he was haunted by the penalty miss for years.It is grim stuff. After the German and Dutch ousters this week, an article in The New York Times asked if there was a better way to settle tied games than the brutal nature of a shootout. The answer: not really. FIFA has tried it before, using “golden goal” sudden-death extra time at tournaments a couple of decades ago, but teams played as though they wanted to avoid making a crucial mistake instead of trying to win and the current format was reintroduced.Goals in the sport are scarce, and the spectre of endless overtime periods has given way, instead, to the painful randomness of the shootout.No one wants to see our nice Canadian fellas have to go through that. I am queasy just thinking about it.Please, no penalties.Check out our sports section for the latest news and analysis. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.