Reaction as West Ham United star misses crucial international penalty amidst 'I apologise' confession
One of West Ham United’s key men has had a challenging international break
Reaction from team-mates and fans alike has made interesting viewing after West Ham United and Brazil star Lucas Paqueta missed a crucial penalty which could have won the game late on against Tunisia on Tuesday night.
The international friendly was finely poised at 1-1 when Brazil earnt the 77th-minute penalty and were given the chance to seal victory. Despite the fact that Chelsea teenager Estevao had scored from the spot earlier in the same game, substitute Paqueta was given the responsibilities and blazed the ball over the crossbar from 12 yards.
The 28-year-old was left with his head in his hands as the game ended level, leaving the West Ham midfielder dejected and full of apology at the full-time whistle.
"I apologise for the missed penalty," he said. "I'm sad. We probably would have won with that penalty. I'm very used to scoring at my club, I have great successes. Unfortunately, my anxiety to score made me make a decision before that final touch, so I think that's what took me away from taking the penalty as I usually do and I ended up not converting it.
"I'll try to put myself in those circumstances to improve in that sense, to convert in the next opportunity and help the team."
Fan reaction as Paqueta misses Brazil penalty
Fans on social media have reacted to Paqueta’s penalty miss, with some poking fun at the incident, whilst fans in Brazil were not impressed at all with the circumstances of the miss.
“Paqueta should have asked Estevao for some penalty tips”, said one fan on X, accompanied by a laughing face emoji.
While fan account @BrasilEdition added: “We saw Estevao SMASH in the last penalty but no let’s have Paqueta do it!”
Another said: “You could just tell Paqueta was going to miss that penalty.”
While @oocbrsao raged: “Ridiculous decision for Lucas Paqueta. Explain why they didn't let Estevao take the penalty again. What a shame this Brazilian national team is.”
West Ham fans will hope backlash from the incident does not leave a lasting impact on Paqueta, who is crucial in the Hammers’ quest to survive relegation this season and will be needed for important upcoming matches against Liverpool and Manchester United in the Premier League. He will not be available for this weekend’s trip to Bournemouth due to suspension for picking up five yellow cards.
‘Paqueta was the taker’ - Carlo Ancelotti explains decision
It is evident that it was manager Carlo Ancelotti’s decision for Paqueta to take the decisive penalty. He has taken spot-kicks for his nation before and has 12 goals in his 61 Brazil caps, but would miss the mark on this occasion.
Ancelotti said of his decision to reporters at full-time: "Paqueta was the penalty taker. For the second penalty, I changed because I wanted to take some of the pressure off Estevao, so I put Paqueta in, who usually takes them very well."
Though the Selecao were forced to settle for a draw on the night, this all reflects well once again on 18-year-old Chelsea winger Estevao, whose rapid rise continues as he grows in stature for his national side.
"It was an order that came," Estevao said. "I really wanted to take the spot-kick but the order came in. I supported my teammate so he could score the goal. Unfortunately, he missed, but heads held high, we have to train, improve because in a World Cup we have to take advantage of these opportunities."