Kylian Mbappe stood over the ball for more than three minutes before his penalty kick – a delay that would prove costly when his tame effort was saved by Yassine Bounou, leaving France's quarter-final against Morocco still goalless in Boston.
The France captain had been fouled by Noussair Mazraoui, but the lengthy pause – partially for a VAR check – drew sharp criticism. "Time is the enemy for a striker when you're waiting," Roy Keane said on ITV, adding: "Over three minutes… it is unfair because it is a pressure situation. You're giving the advantage back to the goalkeeper."
“Mbappe misses stutter penalty after three-minute delay but scores in France's 2-0 win over Morocco.”
Erling Haaland, Mbappe's Golden Boot rival, agreed. Posting on Snapchat, the Manchester City striker wrote: "Need to wait 5 min to take a penalty is too long."
Mbappe's miss was the latest example of a stuttering run-up backfiring. Under Fifa rules, a player may stop or feint during the run-up as long as it is not directly before kicking the ball. But Ian Wright noted: "This stuttering penalty seems to be the one. The goalkeepers seem to have got a march on it now."
Statistics from this World Cup support the trend. Of 26 stutter penalties taken – including shootouts – only 57% were scored, compared to 68% for non-stutter efforts. Overall, 30% of non-shootout penalties have been missed, the second-worst rate since records began in 1966; including shootouts, the miss rate rises to 35%, the highest ever.
"There is an arms race going on," former Scotland winger Pat Nevin said on BBC Radio 5 Live. "It is definitely harder to score a penalty now. The reason being, the goalkeepers are bigger now, more athletic."
Mbappe made amends on the hour mark with a sensational curling effort that broke Morocco's stubborn defence. Ousmane Dembele then doubled France's lead six minutes later, securing a 2-0 win and a place in the semi-finals.
France will now face the winners of the tie between Spain and Belgium for a spot in next weekend's World Cup final.