Determining precisely which players were brought on solely for a penalty shootout is not feasible.
However, considering outfield players introduced in the final five minutes of extra time, only seven instances exist (five occurring since 2022), and merely three of those players converted their spot-kicks.
During this summer’s tournament, two penalty takers were substituted on in stoppage time at the end of extra time and did not touch the ball before the final whistle.
Fabian Balbuena had his penalty stopped by Germany’s Manuel Neuer, yet his Paraguayan side still triumphed in the last-32 shootout.
Mahmoud Saber converted Egypt’s opening penalty in their last-32 victory over Australia, facing a goalkeeper who likewise had not touched the ball (more on that shortly).
Paulo Dybala entered the match after the 120th minute in the 2022 final and scored during Argentina’s shootout triumph against France.
During Morocco’s last-16 victory over Spain that same year, both teams made substitutions in the final two minutes—Badr Benoun and Pablo Sarabia—and neither player converted their penalty.
England’s Jamie Carragher was introduced with two minutes remaining in the 2006 quarter-final against Portugal, and his penalty was saved by Ricardo; he initially scored but was required to retake it because the referee had not blown the whistle.
The first player substituted on in the final five minutes of extra time and then score in a shootout was West Germany’s Pierre Littbarski, who found the net in a quarter-final victory over Mexico in 1986.
Two goalkeepers have been introduced late in World Cup matches specifically with penalty shootouts in mind.
The Netherlands’ Tim Krul entered the field in the 121st minute against Costa Rica in the 2014 quarter-finals and saved two spot-kicks to help his team advance.
He was left on the bench as an unused substitute in the following round, which also went to penalties, and the Netherlands were eliminated as Jasper Cillessen failed to make any saves.
This summer, Australia turned to Mat Ryan, but the plan backfired as Egypt scored all four of their penalties.
Whereas Krul was aware of the strategy beforehand, Ryan was informed only a few minutes before the end that he would be substituted on if the match went to a shootout.
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