Kylian Mbappe's penalty miss in France's win against Morocco is the latest example of a player missing a penalty after stuttering in the run-up.

Mbappe's only previous penalty miss for France came in World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan in March 2021 Whether or not France's World Cup campaign ends with a third world title, few will remember Kylian Mbappe's penalty miss in their quarter-final victory over Morocco. The match in Foxborough was goalless when Mbappe was fouled by Noussair Mazraoui. The France captain stuttered in his run up, looked up at goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, and saw his tame penalty easily saved. Mbappe made amends on the hour mark when his sensational curling effort broke a stubborn Morocco defence, before Ousmane Dembele doubled France's lead six minutes later to secure a 2-0 win. But his earlier blunder, uncharacteristic for the joint-top scorer in this tournament, begs the question: Is it time players stopped with the 'stuttering' penalty kicks? In the list of things football traditionalists hate about the modern game, stuttering run ups are high up alongside players wearing gloves with short sleeve shirts, diving, and of course the video assistant referee (VAR). There is no strict definition of a stutter, but under Fifa rules, a player is allowed to stop or feint during the run-up as long as they don't do it directly before kicking the ball. It's nothing new - John Aldridge, Mexico legend Hugo Sanchez and Pele all used the stutter to gain an advantage - but it can backfire spectacularly if the goalkeeper doesn't commit to diving early.