Ronaldo, Haaland and other top stars missed penalties on the same day

An intense evening took place during the 2026 World Cup European qualifying matches when a number of leading stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Mateo Retegui, and Ferran Torres missed their penalty attempts.

In the match between Spain and Georgia, Ferran Torres was given the chance to score from the penalty spot. However, his shot was spectacularly saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili, the goalkeeper currently playing for Liverpool. Despite this, Spain secured a 2-0 victory, and Mamardashvili was praised as a “superb goalkeeper” even though his team lost.

Shortly after, Mateo Retegui from Italy experienced a similar fate when his penalty was denied by Estonia’s Karl Hein. Nevertheless, the striker quickly regained composure and scored in the 68th minute to double Italy’s lead, helping his team win convincingly and keep their hopes alive for World Cup qualification.

The highlight of the night was Erling Haaland, who shocked all of Europe by missing two consecutive penalties in Norway’s match against Israel. Both attempts were brilliantly stopped by the opposing goalkeeper. However, Haaland soon proved why he is called a “goal-scoring machine” by netting a hat-trick to lead Norway to a 5-0 win. With these three goals, Haaland raised his tally to 51 goals in 46 appearances for the national team and scored in 10 consecutive matches for both his club and country—an extraordinary achievement.

The tense atmosphere continued in the Portugal vs Ireland match, where Cristiano Ronaldo had the chance to break the World Cup qualifying scoring record. However, Caoimhín Kelleher, Brentford’s goalkeeper, made an outstanding dive to save the shot from the 40-year-old superstar. Despite Ronaldo’s penalty miss, Portugal won 1-0 thanks to a late goal by Rúben Neves in stoppage time, maintaining their winning streak in the qualifiers.

Notably, Kelleher has previously saved penalties from Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, and Mbappe, proving himself to be one of the best goalkeepers under high-pressure situations.

While the forwards had a forgettable night, the goalkeepers were the true heroes. From Mamardashvili to Karl Hein and Kelleher, they turned seemingly certain goals into spectacular saves.

This “penalty miss” night was not just a strange coincidence but highlighted the immense pressure top global stars face, reinforcing that sometimes the real heroes in football stand between the posts.