Perhaps the worst open goal miss of all time

Despite all of the money flung at our beloved footballers, they are only human.  The pressures of the penalty-miss in the shoot-out, the desperation to get on the score sheet following a multi-million pound move and the open goal that will burn a psychological scar on the culpable striker far longer than it lives in fans' memories are a few examples of how so.

Penalty misses are understandable, to a certain extent.  Think Fernando Torres and how long it took the Spaniard to begin justifying his multi-million pound move from Liverpool and the miss against Man Utd. But missing an open goal when it looks easier to score?  A case for negligence, incompetence or complacency if ever there was one.

There have been some classic open goals missed in our time.  Even some ridiculous goalkeeping errors by goalies who should know better.  Bruce Grobbelaar immediately springs to mind.

Despite the long-standing Liverpool goalkeeper's undeniable ability, the South African was subject to rushes of blood that had the likes of Ronnie Whelan and Mark Lawrenson scrambling for cover on more than the odd occasion.  I think Lawrenson still suffers from some of those hilarious calamities.  Well, funny for the unbiased supporter at any rate.

Open goal aside, here's the reason FIFA ranks footballing nations

Purely by accident, I stumbled upon this classic open goal miss video on jokeroo - the video played directly after the sad men's aerobic video I alluded to in yesterday's lifestyle article about the eighties.

It's two minutes that highlight exactly why FIFA ranks the world's footballing nations.  This particular match comes from the Asian Games 2010 qualifiers (according to the description, but I think it more likely the Gulf Cup of Nations, to be honest), played between those two towering nations in international soccer, Uzbekistan and Qatar.

The clock's ticking down, into the ninety-first minute with game still in deadlock at 0-0.  The prize of qualification is on the line and the pressure is tangible.  The Qatar forwards are pressing the Uzbekistan defence further and further back towards their own goal, and then this happens...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="646"] qatar miss open goal in injury time[/caption]

Worst Sports Miss In History

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Have Your Say: What's the worst open goal miss you can remember in soccer?
And should players be flogged to within an inch of their lives for missing from the penalty spot?