Recently, SPORT1 interviewed current Nuremberg coach Miroslav Klose, who discussed the penalty shootout controversy after Germany's elimination from the 2026 World Cup, as well as his own experiences with penalties during his playing career.

Klose took 10 penalties in his Bundesliga career, converting only 6 of them. He missed two penalties each while playing for Werder Bremen and Kaiserslautern, and therefore gradually started to let other teammates take penalties.

"When I first started taking penalties at Kaiserslautern, my success rate wasn't very good. There were many players who were better at it than me. So I was happy to take a backseat and let others take them," Klose said in an exclusive interview with SPORT1.

At the 2026 World Cup, Germany lost to Paraguay in a penalty shootout in the round of 16, ending their run in the knockout stage. After Germany's elimination, Goretzka was criticized by the outside world, with reports claiming he was unwilling to take a penalty at the time.

In response, Klose said: "Everyone reacts differently when pressure comes."

It is worth mentioning that Klose scored 16 goals in his World Cup career, but none of them were from penalties.

As a professional player, Klose took a total of 15 penalties, converting 11 of them successfully. Although he was not the team's regular first-choice penalty taker, he never shied away from taking responsibility when the team needed him.

"If you've won some games with your club or national team without being involved in a penalty shootout yourself, it can gradually develop into a superstition. But when it came to truly crucial moments, I was always the one who would pick up the ball first."

"However, in my era, there were many players in the team who wanted to take penalties themselves. So, of course, I would prioritize them," Klose said.

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