Who are the best penalty-takers in the history of football? We look at the players who handled the pressure of taking a penalty and scoring without losing throughout their careers.
From this list, you will realise that only a few players have a 100% record from the penalty spot.
Taking a penalty from 12 yards may seem easy. But scoring from the spot takes a lot of quality and technique.
Besides, even the best players have lost a penalty kick in some of the most crucial moments of their football careers.
Asamoah Gyan’s miss against Uruguay during the 2010 World Cup comes to mind. The miss stopped Ghana from reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time in Ghana’s history.
Matthew Le Tissier is often touted as the best penalty taker in history because he took 49 penalties and only lost one.
However, lesser players like Ledio Pano, Ovidiu Herea, and Ivan Krstanović retired with a 100% conversion rate from the penalty spot.
1. Ledio Pano – 50+
- Clubs: Partizani, Luftëtari, Skoda Xanthi, Panargiakos, Panelefsiniakos, PAS Giannina
- National Team: Albania
- Position: Midfielder
Ledio Pano holds the record for the most penalties taken without losing. Pano was a midfielder for the Albania national football team and six clubs between 1986 and 2002 (Partizani, Luftëtari, Skoda Xanthi, Panargiakos, Panelefsiniakos, PAS Giannina).
He made 336 appearances for club and country and scored 104 goals (he only scored one goal for Albania in nine appearances).
However, Pano took at least 50 penalty kicks and scored 50, a 100% conversion rate. He scored the most goals for Partizani (53) in 144 appearances.
2. Ovidiu Herea – 38
- Clubs: Național București, Rapid București, Sion, Skoda Xanthi, Pandurii Târgu Jiu, Concordia Chiajna, Viitorul Constanța, Balotești, Metaloglobus București
- National Team: Romania
- Position: Attacking Midfielder
Nicolae Ovidiu Herea played as an attacking midfielder between 2003 and 2022.
He played for the Romania national football team and nine football clubs; Național București, Rapid București, Sion, Skoda Xanthi, Pandurii Târgu Jiu, Concordia Chiajna, Viitorul Constanța, Balotești, and Metaloglobus București.
Ovidiu Herea made 469 appearances for club and country and scored 120 goals. He had an impressive 100% conversion rate from the penalty spot after taking 38 penalties and scoring 38.
After retiring as a player in 2022, Ovidiu is currently an assistant manager for his former club Concordia Chiajna.
3. Ivan Krstanović – 30+
- Clubs: Tomislav, Drinovci, Posušje, Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb, Rijeka, Zadar, Široki Brijeg, Lokomotiva, Slaven Belupo
- National Team: Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Position: Centre Forward
Ivan Krstanović is a centre-forward for Slaven Belupo in the Croatian First Football League.
He started his career in 2000 and has played for ten football clubs (Tomislav, Drinovci, Posušje, Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb, Rijeka, Zadar, Široki Brijeg, Lokomotiva, Slaven Belupo).
Ivan Krstanović has made 403 appearances for clubs and scored 153 goals. However, he has taken at least 30 penalty kicks and scored 30, a 100% conversion rate.
Krstanović has scored more goals (37 in 100 appearances) for his current club Slaven Belupo.
The best moment of his football career was the 2010-11 season while playing for Zagreb, where he scored 19 goals and became the top scorer in the Prva HNL league.
4. Mile Jedinak – 16
- Clubs: Sydney United, Varteks (loan), South Coast United (loan), Central Coast Mariners, Gençlerbirliği, Antalyaspor (loan), Crystal Palace, Aston Villa
- National Team: Australia
- Position: Defensive Midfielder
Mile Jedinak was a defensive midfielder for the Australia national football team and eight clubs. He played 509 games for club and country and scored 59 goals.
Jedinak was excellent from the spot kick. He took 16 penalties in his career and converted 16. His teams only conceded three goals in games where he scored a penalty.
Jedinak scored most of his goals (20) for his national team in 78 appearances. He appeared more for Crystal Palace (165) and scored ten goals.
When he retired in 2020, he had a 4/4 penalty record in the English Premier League for Crystal Palace.
5. Yaya Toure – 15
- Clubs: Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos, Monaco, Barcelona, Manchester City, Qingdao Huanghai
- National Team: Ivory Coast
- Position: Central Midfielder
Yaya Toure played as a midfielder between 2001 and 2020.
He played for the Ivory Coast national team and eight football clubs, including Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos, AS Monaco, Barcelona, Manchester City, and Qingdao Huanghai.
Yaya Toure made 571 appearances for club and country and scored 98 goals. Although he had many goals in open play, Yaya was excellent from the penalty spot. He took 15 penalties in his career and scored 15.
A unique stat is that Yaya Toure never lost or drew a game in which he took a penalty and scored. His power and precision penalty style are behind his 100% success rate.
Surprisingly, Yaya Toure took his first penalty for Manchester City three years after joining the club. Before leaving the English Premier League club in 2018, Toure had taken 11 penalties for the club and scored 11.
As a result, he left the highest Premier League record of 11/11 in the competition’s history. Toure scored the other four penalties in the FA Cup (1), EFL Cup (2) and World Cup qualification (1) for Ivory Coast.
6. Andreas Pereira – 6
- Clubs: Manchester United, Granada (loan), Valencia (loan), Lazio (loan), Flamengo (loan), Fulham
- National Team: Belgium, Brazil
- Position: Midfielder
Andreas Pereira is a unique addition to this list of players who have never missed a penalty. Admittedly, he is not a prolific goalscorer, as his stats indicate.
Pereira has scored 36 goals in 291 appearances for club and country. However, he has taken six penalties and scored six. He has scored four spot kicks in regular time, and two in shootout wins.
Although Andreas Pereira has a clean penalty record, he is still an active player. He currently plays as an attacking midfielder for English Premier League side Fulham.
FIFA recognises Andreas Pereira as a Brazilian international who can play for the Brazilian national team. However, he played for Belgium Under 15, 16, and 17 between 2010 and 2013.
Between 2014 and 2016, he played for Brazil Under 20 and 23. And in 2018, he debuted for the Brazil national football team.
Have your say
Have you taken a penalty as a footballer? What is your conversion rate, and what technique do you use to score?
How about Rashidi Yekini of Nigeria ? I’m not sure that he has lost any of his penalty kicks. Verify, please.
What about Mario Balotelli,has he ever missed a penalty?