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One of the few times a sports-watching populace would not want to be in the position of a professional athlete would be during penalty kicks in an important game. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine a more embarrassing penalty take happening this year than what Brazilian forward Rony put forward for Palmeiras in the third-place match of the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday.

After a goalless 90 minutes, the match between the Brazilian club and African champions Al Ahly, an Egyptian club, went straight to penalties. Things already looked dubious for the 25-year-old as he began his run up from just outside the penalty arc. He then took a speedy run-up and then quickly slowed down to a light shuffle where he ended things with a hop and a shot to the right. 

It will come as no surprise that all of those changes in momentum in rapid succession did not lead to a powerful attempt, and keeper Mohamed El-Shenawy was able to save the shot with ease.

Props to his teammates for not immediately charging toward him to berate the player over his lackluster attempt, and also giving supportive (possibly sarcastic?) claps as he made his way back to his squad with his head hanging low.

Al Ahly would go on to win the match on penalties with Palmeiras skipper Felipe Melo — a former Juventus midfielder — also having his shot saved by El-Shenawy. 

“It would have been better to play in the final, but you can see how our performance showed even the doubters how we can play,” said El-Shenawy.

Bayern Munich took down Tigres in the Club World Cup final later in the day. Read more about that match here.

Sports report