While football is known as a sport for producing moments that create incredibly happy emotions, there are those haunting instances that bring the opposite. For every winning cup team, there’s a losing side that watches on as they lift the trophy, and for every penalty save, there’s a player with his head in his hands. Whether at the club or international level, there are examples of both across football history that still resonate with fans even decades after they have passed.
Sport as a whole is unforgiving and the most deserving team or player doesn’t always succeed and when you add in certain narratives alongside such failures, it makes the moment even more difficult to process. Moments within this list are still talked about now as if they were yesterday and some even continued to follow certain players for the rest of their careers, such was the magnitude of their error.
With that in mind, GIVEMESPORT has examined football history to select 10 of its heartbreaking moments, leaving fans devastated and with a true sense of ‘what if’ years later.
Ranking Factors:
- Nature of the Moment – What the exact moment was: penalty miss etc.
- The Occasion – When did the moment occur, and in which competition or game?
- Narrative – What were the repercussions of missing? What did their failure result in?
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10 Brazil’s Heavy World Cup Defeat vs Germany
The tournament favourites dominated on home soil in 2014
With the World Cup being held in Brazil in 2014, their blossoming side, led by the mercurial global superstar Neymar, were favourites to take the crown. Expectations were high, and they performed strongly across the competition to live up to that tagline. Before their semi-final with Germany, they faced heartbreak after Neymar was forced off with a serious injury, and they were without Thiago Silva.
The loss of Neymar was significant psychologically, and the Germans boasted their strongest side and quickly went to work, taking a shock 5-0 lead in front of a devastated home crowd in just 29 minutes. All the hopes and dreams of a World Cup victory were cut short before the first half had even reached its halfway point. They were forced to watch on as they were dominated for 90 minutes, losing 7-1 to the eventual champions, but it was a difficult and sad watch given the hype and hope that the country had before that defeat.
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9 Andres Iniesta’s Late Goal at Stamford Bridge
Last-gasp winner comes after controversial referee performance
In the 2008/09 semi-final, Michael Essien’s early stunner gave Chelsea an aggregate lead over Barcelona, and they managed to bully and out-fight the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi in what was an epic clash at Stamford Bridge. However, the game is now remembered for four separate penalty decisions that went against Chelsea.
The first saw Dani Alves wrestle Florent Malouda in the box, only for the referee to give a free-kick just outside. The second saw Eric Abidal impede Didier Drogba in the box, pulling his shirt as he fell to the ground as the last man. In the second half, Nicolas Anelka looked to poke the ball around Gerard Pique, whose hand was away from his body, which blocked the ball returning to him in front of goal; all three left the fans incensed.
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Horribly for Chelsea, despite dominating, a late poor clearance from Essien allowed Messi to find Iniesta on the edge of the box, whose brilliant strike rifled into the top corner to give them a late away goal to confirm their victory. As heartbreaking as that was, there was still one more moment of woe to come. Michael Ballack fired a volley from inside the box after the corner which was met by Samuel Eto’o, as the ball clattered into his outstretched arm.
The German then ran after the referee, screaming for a penalty, only for Tom Henning Ovrebo to wave it away. Following the game, Ovrebo was flooded with death threats and, within a year, he had retreated to officiate in his native country before retiring in 2013. If VAR had been in play back then, they would have dominated and battered one of the great football sides of the 21st century.
8 Roberto Baggio’s World Cup Penalty Miss
The Italian superstar was one of the best players in world football then and arrived at the World Cup with great expectations in 1994. Having won the Ballon d’Or a year earlier, all eyes were on the enigmatic forward to lead his side to success after reaching a third-place finish four years earlier.
Despite a slow start, Roberto Baggio produced three Man of the Match displays in the games leading up to the final against Brazil, in which he entered slightly injured and playing with the aid of painkillers. The game went to penalties and Baggio was Italy’s final penalty taker, stepping up and needing to score to keep his side in the game. However, uncharacteristically, he fired well over in a dramatic, heartbreaking moment, as Italy’s brilliant side missed out on the trophy, and it followed him for the rest of his career.
7 Lorius Karius’s Champions League Final Horror Show
An unforgettable performance for all the wrong reasons
Jurgen Klopp’s incredible rise at Liverpool culminated in his first full season as he managed to guide a fresh, young side into the final of the 2017/18 Champions League campaign. They faced the winners from the previous two years in Real Madrid and were underdogs to pull off an upset in Kyiv against the might of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and the rest. They competed brilliantly and shocked Zinedine Zidane’s side with their intensity but fell behind early in the second half in crazy circumstances as Lorius Karius had a night to forget.
Karius looked to roll the ball out, but Benzema blocked the attempted throw and the rebound rolled into Liverpool’s goal in a bizarre moment. While Sadio Mane equalised minutes later to bring them level, Karius was then left stranded by Gareth Bale with his incredible overhead kick to give his side the lead.
With Liverpool now chasing the game, things opened up and there was the hope of another reprieve. However, Bale’s long shot was fumbled horribly by the goalkeeper in the 83rd minute, confirming Madrid’s win, and it left Karius’ career in tatters as he would forever be known for gifting Madrid two goals in a major final as he left the pitch in tears at full-time.
6 Frank Lampard’s Disallowed Goal vs Germany
The goal that never was
England’s international exploits in the early 2000s were full of disappointments in knockout competitions as exceptionally talented sides fell short in the most dramatic of ways, be it penalty shootouts or late exits – it looked as if they were destined to never reach the pinnacle of international football once again. Heading to South Africa in 2010, England’s side still had plenty of iconic names, but they weren’t as strong as they had been in previous competitions.
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Pressure was high after failing to reach Euro 2008 and a game against an in-form Germany side in the last 16 was a big chance to make a statement. Having struggled early on, they fought back to 2-1 and had shown signs of fight and energy in the second half. Suddenly, England were on the attack when Frank Lampard went for an audacious chip over Manuel Neuer; the ball rebounded down off the crossbar and clearly over the line, but the referees waved play on.
Lampard had his head in his hands and Mark Lawrenson in the commentary booth called out Sepp Blatter for FIFA’s rejection of goal-line technology up to that point. It was a shocking moment. If that goal had been given, it could have spurred England on, changed the momentum and given Lampard one of the goals of the tournament. Instead, they crumbled and fell to the much better team on the day.
5 Steven Gerrard’s Slip vs Chelsea
Fatal mistake costs Liverpool the Premier League title
With Liverpool mounting their best title challenge in Premier League history at that point, the 2013/14 season looked like Steven Gerrard’s last chance of securing that coveted title that had eluded him across his Reds career. Chelsea arrived at Anfield with two games to go and Brendan Rodgers’ team needed to win their remaining three games to confirm an incredible title – but Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea had other plans. While they had just fallen short of Manchester City and Liverpool, they had been title contenders across the season and had no desire to roll over.
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Posting a rotated side, they sat deep and made it difficult for Liverpool and struck before half-time as Gerrard, receiving the ball from Mamadou Sakho, somehow slipped as the last man, allowing Demba Ba to run through and open the scoring. It was a shocking moment in which Liverpool’s most reliable and exceptional player made a vital mistake.
They were forced to chase the game and eventually lost 2-0 after conceding late on and this was the moment that cost his side the league. Liverpool eventually won their first title in 2020, but every fan was heartbroken when Gerrard slipped at the worst time.
4 Thierry Henry’s Handball vs Republic of Ireland
Daylight robbery as officials miss glaring error
With all the brilliance that Thierry Henry produced across his career, there’s one moment that stands out as shocking and controversial. The Republic of Ireland found themselves in a qualification tie against France to reach the 2010 World Cup and, having lost the first game 1-0, needed a result in the second leg. An early first-half goal from Robbie Keane brought them level and the game eventually headed into extra-time. Their confidence was growing, but France remained a threat with the quality they had.
Henry was part of a move that saw him aim to control the ball near the touchline in the box, but it looked as if he had handled the ball to keep it from going out. William Gallas netted seconds later and the referee was unmoved despite intense protests. France edged past Ireland, but there was a feeling of a grave robbery against the underdogs and Henry later claimed he ‘wasn’t proud’ of the moment. It still stings for Irish fans.
3 Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’
One of the most iconic and controversial moments in football history, Diego Maradona’s ‘hand of god’ has stood the test of time. His Argentina side came up against a hugely talented England team at the World Cup in 1986 in the quarter-finals in one of the games of the tournament. Maradona dramatically opened the scoring as he leapt up to compete for a header with Peter Shilton only to beat the oncoming keeper to the ball with what looked like his hand.
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The referee refused to rule it out despite incredible protests from the English players. With fans and players still up in arms, Maradona silenced the doubters minutes later when he scored the ‘Goal of the Century’ as he ran past most of the England team before rounding Shilton to score. Gary Lineker netted a late consolation but that original moment of deception from Maradona was iconic and shouldn’t have stood. Despite his legendary solo effort minutes later, that game will always be known for a moment of deception that should never have stood.
2 Ghana’s Penalty Heartbreak in 2010
Asamoah Gyan’s missed penalty came after Luis Suarez’s handball
In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Ghana were the last great hope for the continent to support in the quarter-finals after they beat the United States of America in the last 16. They were a joyous and talented side hoping to write themselves into history by reaching the semi-finals and faced a high-scoring Uruguay side that included a young Luis Suarez. Ghana performed incredibly across the game and, after a late flurry in the box, a header was cleared off the line by Suarez using his hands, denying a certain goal.
He was then sent off, and a penalty was awarded with Asamoah Gyan stepping up in the final minute of extra time. The world came to a halt in the seconds before Gyan struck the ball, but his effort hit the crossbar and the final whistle came seconds later in a heartbreaking moment.
However, the image of Suarez running around celebrating just off the pitch was a sign of true elation in the face of a heartbroken Ghana team and the fans around the world who fell in love with that spirited African side. It led to penalties, which Ghana eventually lost, but that moment from Suarez remains fixed in fans’ memories across the world as a truly sad sporting moment.
1 England’s Euro 1996 Heartbreak
A defeat that still hurts nearly 30 years on
While recent years have seen true heartbreak in the Euro 2020 final against Italy and the final against Spain, the original ‘what if’ moment came in Euro 1996 on home soil as England’s fantastic side led by Terry Venables brought a nation together and the ‘Three Lions’ nearly roared their way to European success.
The whole population was in unison behind their team as England mania hit the country and, having produced some brilliant performances, they faced their old adversaries Germany in the semi-finals. With the game level in extra-time, Paul Gascoigne was inches away from tapping in a winner which left fans with their heads in their hands watching on, but more pain was to follow.
Penalties came and England fell short. Gareth Southgate was the one who stepped up and missed England’s sixth penalty. It was a tame effort, and it allowed Germany to net a winner, leaving the whole country in despair after their brilliant efforts across the tournament. The wait for a major trophy at that point was 30 years, and it has continued since, set to reach 60 in 2026 as England hopes to end their wait at the upcoming World Cup.