In December 2022, Argentina won the third world title in its history by winning against France (3-3, 4 tab 2). Third French shooter, Aurélien Tchouameni was the second Frenchman to fail after Kingsley Coman. Four years later, the Real Madrid player will perhaps have the opportunity to take his revenge during the 2026 World Cup. In the meantime, he returned to this missed penalty which he quickly wanted to banish from his memory.
“I prefer to look at myself in the mirror the next day and say to myself: ‘You missed but you went there’, rather than telling myself that I was scared. And if in July 2026 it ends with such a session, we have to go. Just focused on my goal, to score. When I was younger, when my mom said something to me, I replied: “It’s okay, it’s not the World Cup final either!” Well there… (He smiles.) There you go, that’s part of my story. My penalty was taken badly, it’s true. And tomorrow, if I have a new opportunity, I will do everything to do better. But against Croatia, in the Nations League (March 23, 2025), I shot in the same place. I had to, mentally, have an image of myself taking a penalty from that side and scoring it. And so, it’s an exercise that needs to be worked on”he declared in an interview with The Team.
