10 worst active penalty takers in the 21st century

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Sweden v France - UEFA Nations League
Sweden v France - UEFA Nations League

#6: Majeed Waris (Strasbourg/Ghana) - 4 misses out of 11 penalties (36%)

Majeed Waris
Majeed Waris

Ghanian striker Majeed Waris, who plays for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, hasn't scored ten goals in a season since scoring 11 for Lorient in 2016-17.

Since that modest return, Waris' goals have become even more infrequent. The 28-year-old has scored just ten times in 63 games in all competitions.

Like his goals return, Waris also has an underwhelming record from the spot. In 11 spot-kicks, the Ghanian has missed four, which gives him one of the ten-worst penalty conversion rates in the 21st century.

5. Aleksandr Kolarov (AS Roma/Serbia) - 5 misses out of 13 penalties (38%)

Aleksandr Kolarov
Aleksandr Kolarov

AS Roma's Serbian left-back Aleksandr Kolarov has had an impressive tally of 17 goals in 100 games in all competitions since joining the Italian club in the summer of 2017. That is more than his tally of 11 mustered during seven seasons at Manchester City.

Kolarov, not known for his pace or physicality, is a ball-playing defender with immaculate crossing and passing prowess. He scores goals from free-kicks with a swish of his magical left foot but is not quite known for the same composure from the penalty spot.

Although Kolarov missed the only penalty he took for Manchester City outside of a penalty shootout, the 34-year-old assumed spot-kick responsibilities for Roma and hasn't done a shoddy job at that.

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Kolarov has attempted seven spot-kicks for the Italian club, scoring all but two of them, which is a decent success rate of 71%. However, that rate drops to 62% if his penalty conversion rate during his entire career is considered.

Apart from his two misses for Roma and one for City, the Serbian player also missed a penalty for Serbia in an international friendly in 2014 and another in a Serie A game for Lazio in 2010.

Overall, Kolarov has missed five of 13 spot-kicks attempted for club or country.

#4: Adem Ljacic (Besiktas/Serbia) - 6 misses out of 16 penalties (38%)

Adem Ljacic
Adem Ljacic

29-year-old Serbian midfielder Adem Ljacic has scored 79 goals in 374 cumulative appearances for six different clubs, with 16 of them coming for his present club Besiktas.

Though he has featured in a plethora of attacking roles, Ljacic is at his most effective when playing as a second striker. He is also renowned for his crossing ability; Ljacic had the best success rate among players to have attempted over 25 crosses in the Turkish Super Lig in 2019-20.

However, the Serb has an underwhelming record from the spot. In 16 spot-kicks attempted by Ljajic, only ten have gone in, which gives the midfielder one of the worst penalty conversion rates in the 21st century.

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