Best Penalty Kicks of All Time

It takes an incredible amount of skill to score some of the best penalty kicks in soccer history. As some of the most exciting and nail-biting moments in soccer matches, spot kicks are a rare treasure to fans. Depending on both the talents of the penalty taker and the goalie, the chances of 50/50.

These are the highlighted victories of the penalty takers and how they managed to get their ball past the quick athleticism of the goalkeeper, and why they'll be remembered forever. Are your favorite soccer moments on the list?

To start off our list of the best penalty kicks in soccer history, Francesco Totti scored one of the most impressive penalty goals of all time.

Totti approached the ball with speed and grace. And with a backheeled kick, not even looking toward the goal, he scored while doing a 360-degree turn. As his 226th Serie A goal, this was one of the most incredible. Could you do that?

In an Italy vs England game, the match came down to penalities. As one of the best penalty kicks of all time, Andrea Pirlo took the responsibility of the win on his back. As he jogs up to the ball, Pirlo lightly taps the ball, sending it on a rainbow-like path directly over the goalie, as he falsely lunges toward the ground.

In an interview about the kick, Pirlo described deciding on chipping it over to the goalie in that very moment, after acknowledging his weird movements. He said that his team deserved to win, and that they ultimately played a better game. So he took the opportunity to finish the game then and there.

Zinedine Zidane's penalty in the France vs Italy World Cup Finals will forever be remembered as one of the highlights of his successful career as a professional soccer player. As he took the field on alone, Zidane approached the ball with confidence and speed, aiming above the goalie's head.

What made it so special? The ball missed the goalie's reach, hit the top goal post, and just barely made a point for the team. He will forever be known as one of the top penalty takers of the sport.

Neymar Jr. definitely holds the title to one of the best penalty kicks, simply due to his cheeky and risky technique. As a way to trick the goalie, Neymar Jr. slowly jogs up to the ball, hesitating before he even reaches it, then speeds up slightly, pulling his foot back as if he was going to shoot, and then stops.

As he does this, the goalie lunges toward the direction that he placed his foot, but Neymar instead slowly launches the ball in the open area of the goal. The goalie is useless toward this shot, as he laying on the turf. Neymar's team parades around the turf with hats they stored off the field, dancing together in victory.

As one of the most simple, yet classic successful penalty kicks, Alexis Sanchez completed this goal to win the American Final for Arsenal. After the game had gone back and forth with both teams taking the lead at one point, Sanchez secured the final point in the game.

The striker took the ball straight down the center of the goal, a tactic that not many players would dare to do. But a chance Sanchez is certainly glad he took, as he paraded around the field afterward, removing his shirt and swinging it around his head.

Though Joonas Jokinen is only a student-athlete from Finland, his skills caught on camera have become known as one of the best penalty kicks. Discovered on YouTube, the secondary striker was recorded as he went to kick a penalty kick. However, things went a little differently.

The player runs up to secure the goal, kicks the ball, and promptly spins into a backflip, landing delicately on his feet just seconds after the ball makes it into the goal with ease.

Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2006 World Cup for Portugal with one of the most impressive penalty kicks of all time. As stressful as a game's final moment as you can image, the match was completed with an incredible penalty. Plus, it happened after Ronaldo was injured by an opposing player.

To complete his goal, Ronaldo first hesitated before kicking the ball, a tactic to confuse the goalie. He then connected with the ball with full strength, aiming it above the goalie's head, and launching it into the back of the net.

As one of the most creative penalty points made in soccer history, Johan Cruyff made an interesting call on how to score. As he ran up the field toward the ball, instead of kicking toward the goal, he made a light pass to his left, where Jesper Olsen met the ball and ran it up toward the goal where Cruyff followed close, confusing the goalie.

He then passes it back to Cruyff, where he ultimately scores the point. The crowd went wild for one of the best penalty kicks of all time.

Lionel Messi is one of the few athletes that could mimic Johan Cruyff's creativity and skill set. As an almost identical moment in soccer history, Messi passed off the ball during a penalty kick.

Luis Suarez took the ball into the goal from the left side with precision and force. There was no time for the goalie to react to the sudden switch. The goal will forever be remembered as one of the best penalty kicks.

Described as one of the best moments in soccer history, Stuart Pearce scored one of the best penalty kicks during the Euro 96 Quarter-Final. After 120 minutes, the game came to a shootout against Spain.

As a player with as much passion in the game as talent, Pearce took on the emotional redemption. With a foreful and intricately placed kick, he scored the game-winning point into the right corner of the goal, just out of the goalie's reach.