Qatar 2022: How many FIFA World Cup finals have been decided by penalties?

The FIFA World Cup 2022 gets underway in Qatar on Sunday, November 20 with Qatar vs Ecuador match will be the opening match of the tournament. Despite some big names missing the tournament fans can expect some nail-biting encounters throughout the tournament. The players from the participating countries at the FIFA World Cup give their blood and sweat on the field to achieve glory for the team.

Sometimes the hard-fought matches are often decided on penalties and there is nothing like watching players pitted against goalkeepers, with either one leaving as the hero or the villain. Ahead of the start of the FIFA World Cup 2022, we go through the years when the final of the tournament was decided via penalty shoot out.

Qatar 2022: A look at FIFA World Cup finals decided on penalties

The penalty shootout decides the winner and the loser when teams are unable to break the deadlock in normal as well as extra time. The concept of a penalty shootout was first introduced by FIFA during the 1978 World Cup held in Argentina. However, the first FIFA World Cup final which was decided on penalties was the 1994 edition. Brazil and Italy failed to break the deadlock after regulation and extra time with the match being then decided on penalties. Brazil beat Italy 3-2, with Roberto Baggio sending the ball over the crossbar.

The second instance of World Cup penalties happened was during the 2006 edition. Besides the penalty, Italy vs France match will be remembered for Zinedine Zidane's headbutt to Marco Materazzi. Zidane's red card took a huge hit to the morale of the France football team as they went down 3-5 on penalties for Italy to lift the World Cup title.

FIFA World Cup 2022 format 

The FIFA World Cup 2022 will get underway on November 20 with 32 nations trying to claim the first two spots in their respective groups. A total of 16 out of the 32 participating teams will advance to the knockout stage. The matches of the knockout stage are scheduled to be held between December 3 to 6. The final eight teams will face other in the quarterfinal stage. The quarterfinal matches are scheduled to take place on December 9 and 10. The best four teams will be competing in the semifinals with the matches scheduled to take place on December 13 and 14. The FIFA World Cup final is scheduled to take place on December 18.