Netherlands overtake England for most World Cup penalty shootout defeats… After Morocco’s defeat
Netherlands overtake England for most World Cup penalty shootout defeats… After Morocco’s defeat
The Netherlands has officially overtaken England for a record no footballing nation ever wants to hold: the most penalty shootout defeats in World Cup history.
The Breaking Point:
The unwanted crown shifted dramatically in the Round of 32 during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Facing a resilient Morocco squad, the Dutch fought to a grueling 1-1 draw through 120 minutes of regular and extra time.
When the match moved to a penalty shootout, old ghosts returned to haunt the Oranje. Morocco held their nerve to win the shootout 3-2, sending the Dutch packing and cementing a historic statistical low for Netherlands football.
Breaking a Grim Tie:
Before the 2026 tournament, the Netherlands and England were locked in a miserable tie, each having suffered 4 penalty shootout losses on the world stage. With this latest defeat to Morocco, the Dutch tally has officially climbed to 5 tournament shootout losses, leaving England behind at 4.
There actually hasn’t been a Dutch defeat in normal time of a World Cup game since the 2010 final. Since then, they’ve been knocked out on penalties in every tournament apart from 2018, when they didn’t even qualify.
Misses from Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber and Crysencio Summerville sealed their fate this year in the round of 32 loss to Morocco, after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
They previously suffered the heartbreak of being denied a place in the final by losing on penalties in the 1998 and 2014 semi-finals against Brazil and Argentina respectively.
And in 2022, they were one of the teams beaten by eventual champions Argentina on penalties at the quarter-final stage.
The historical timeline of Dutch shootout heartbreak now spans over three decades:1998 (Semifinal): Lost to Brazil (4-2 on penalties); 2014 (Semifinal): Lost to Argentina (4-2 on penalties) 2022 (Quarterfinal): Lost to Argentina (4-3 on penalties); 2026 (Round of 32): Lost to Morocco (3-2 on penalties)
A Psychological Scar Deepens
While England famously exorcised some of their shootout demons under Gareth Southgate in recent tournaments, the Netherlands continue to find the 12-yard spot an insurmountable psychological barrier.
Despite implementing specialized penalty keepers and scientific sports psychologists over the years, the Oranje simply cannot shake their spot-kick curse.
As Morocco celebrated a historic leap into the next round, the Dutch players were left slumped on the turf, faced not only with the pain of elimination, but the heavy statistical reality that they are now officially the World Cup’s ultimate penalty casualties.
It’s the most heartbreaking way to go out of a World Cup, but every penalty shootout has to have a loser – and some countries have suffered that fate multiple times over the years.
Penalty shootouts were introduced in the World Cup for games drawn after extra time in 1978, although the first shootout did not take place until 1982.
Since then, there have been more than 30 World Cup penalty shootouts.
