Kai Havertz became the first Arsenal player eliminated from the World Cup on Monday night, after scoring a vital equaliser for Germany but missing his penalty in the subsequent shootout.
Arsenal players have had a strong World Cup so far, with all 15 internationals progressing to the knockout stages of the competition.
But that run had to end sometime, and Kai Havertz became the first Arsenal player eliminated after Germany’s shock defeat by Paraguay on Monday night.
Havertz had initially kept Germany in the competition with his third goal of the tournament, glancing a header into the net in the 54th minute for 1-1. The goal sent the match to extra time, and then penalties, with neither side able to score another.
But when Havertz stepped up first in the shootout, he saw his spot-kick saved by Paraguay’s Orlando Gill. Nick Woltemade then missed Germany’s fourth penalty to put the team on the verge of elimination.
With Paraguay missing their final two penalties of the first five, Germany found themselves back on level terms. The shootout went to sudden death, but Jonathan Tah’s miss allowed Jose Canale to win it for Paraguay.
Havertz generally has a strong penalty record, scoring 26 of his 30 penalties for club and country across his career. But his record in shootouts is not so impressive, with three of his four misses coming from his six shootout attempts.
It’s worth mentioning that none of those three “misses” actually missed the target, they were all saved by the opposition goalkeeper. But the evidence suggests Havertz’s penalties in shootouts are a bit easier to stop, or perhaps his focus wavers a little more than in normal time.
From an Arsenal perspective, the good news is that Havertz is beginning his summer holidays relatively early.
The forward could have a full month off now and still be back in time for the team’s first pre-season friendly, which likely won’t be the case for all of his teammates. He’ll have plenty of time to start gearing up for his club’s title defence.
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