It’s theatrical. It can be maddening. It makes the world’s top soccer players look very cool — or very silly.
The stutter-step penalty has been a feature of this World Cup, with the leading adopters of the technique being superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane and Neymar.
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Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) scores on a penalty kick past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic (1) during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Argentina's Lionel Messi shoots a penalty kick and fails to score during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Brazil's Neymar (10) scores a goal from a penalty kick during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Brazil and Norway in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Mexico's Raul Jimenez scores his side's second goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Mexico and England in Mexico City, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Brazil's Bruno Guimaraes (8) takes a penalty kick during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Brazil and Norway in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Let’s say it's had varying levels of success.
It has sent France through to the quarterfinals and contributed to Brazil’s exit. Messi didn’t even hit the target when he tried one in group play.
As for Neymar, a converted stutter-step penalty proved to be his parting gift to international soccer.
And that feels poignant.
The stutter-step penalty — where a player feints, sometimes repeatedly and almost to the point of stopping, keeping his eyes on the goalkeeper during their run-up to the ball — is widely believed to have been spawned in Brazil in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Nicknamed the “paradinha,” Portuguese for “little stop,” it was made famous by Pelé and continued by a young Neymar when he was being hailed as an heir to the three-time World Cup winner.
In 2010, at the age of 18, Neymar took the stutter to extremes when he scored a penalty for club team Santos by dancing up to the ball, coming to a standstill after placing his standing foot next to the ball, and then stroking it home, having made the goalkeeper commit a dive already.
It forced soccer's lawmaking officials to change the regulations ahead of the World Cup in South Africa that year, instructing referees to show a yellow card to penalty-takers who feint as they are about to strike the ball and to disallow those goals.
The law has been refined again since then, with players allowed to feint during their run-up but not after completing it before shooting.
The main idea of the stutter-step penalty is to befuddle goalkeepers so much in this battle of wills over 12 yards (11 meters) that they commit early and offer an easy path for a shot into the net.
This “goalkeeper-dependent technique” — as it's called by experts — is not for the faint-hearted.
“It is very sophisticated and hard to perform when the pressure is truly on,” explains Geir Jordet, professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and author of the book “Pressure: Lessons from the Psychology of the Penalty Shootout.” “If you’re competent at executing this technique, this will effectively delete the risk factor of the goalkeeper going in the right direction and your odds suddenly going down.”
However, Jordet added: “You need to have a very high clarity in your head to be able to do that.”
When it comes to penalties, there will always be traditionalists in the head-down-and-hit-it-hard camp. There was also fleetingly a hop-skip routine, used notably by Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes and former Italy international Jorginho, that enjoyed some success around six or seven years ago.
Nowadays, most penalty-takers have the stutter-step technique in their armory, even if they don't use it all the time.
Messi used it — and failed — for his spot kick that drifted wide against Austria in the group stage. He changed course by doing a normal run-up for a penalty against Egypt in the last 16 on Wednesday and this time saw his kick saved.
In England's group-stage win over Croatia, Kane had a penalty saved after a stutter-step run-up, only for the referee to order the spot kick to be retaken because the goalkeeper stepped off his line too early. Kane scored his second attempt after a straight run-up to the ball.
Successful kicks using that technique have been delivered by Mbappé to secure France's 1-0 win over Paraguay in the round of 16, Ronaldo in Portugal's 2-1 win over Croatia in same round, while Neymar — now aged 34 — rolled back the years to score from one in the last seconds against Norway. He retired from international play after the match.
Possibly the best at it is Mexico striker Raúl Jiménez, who used repeated stutter steps on his way to converting a penalty in the 3-2 loss to England on Sunday. He is statistically the best ever penalty-taker in the Premier League, having scored on all 14 of his kicks.
When they go wrong, stutter-step penalty-takers can seem so insouciant that they look unprofessional.
Goalkeepers are getting wiser to them, too, changing their own techniques, not committing as early and becoming “creative, deliberate and volatile” in their attempts to put more pressure the shooter, Jordet says.
And so, the high-profile stutter-step failures are adding up, especially when the pressure is at its highest. Just look at Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimarães, whose effort was saved — when the score was 0-0 — before Norway went on to win 2-1 in the round of 16, and Justin Kluivert in the Netherlands’ shootout loss to Morocco.
Kluivert had come on late in extra time, giving the Dutch a supposed penalty specialist in the shootout, but struck the post with his kick.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) scores on a penalty kick past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic (1) during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Argentina's Lionel Messi shoots a penalty kick and fails to score during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Brazil's Neymar (10) scores a goal from a penalty kick during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Brazil and Norway in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Mexico's Raul Jimenez scores his side's second goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Mexico and England in Mexico City, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Brazil's Bruno Guimaraes (8) takes a penalty kick during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Brazil and Norway in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Toronto’s Dylan Cease worked eight no-hit innings against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday before allowing a single to Heliot Ramos leading off the ninth as the Blue Jays rolled to a 10-0 victory.
Cease (6-4) was pulled after Ramos’ clean line-drive single to center and got a standing ovation from the San Francisco crowd. The All-Star right-hander threw a career-high 118 pitches, 81 for strikes. Former Giants reliever Tyler Rogers got the final three outs on four pitches.
Cease struck out 11 to increase his American League-leading total to 148.
BRAVES 3, PIRATES 0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joey Bart hit a two-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning, lifting the NL East-leading Atlanta to a win over his former team after Pittsburgh starter Jared Jones pitched six perfect innings before being lifted.
Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot drive to left-centerfield off a slider from Dennis Santana (2-4). Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth.
Jones struck out eight on 77 pitches, including 53 strikes, to lower his ERA to 4.37 from 5.28. His bid was nearly ended by Bart with one out in the third, but a long drive to left was caught at the wall by Bryan Reynolds.
RAYS 3, YANKEES 0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jonathan Aranda drove in three runs, Shane McClanahan pitched 6 1/3 innings and Tampa Bay beat New York to extend their AL East lead to five games.
McClanahan (8-5) scattered four hits and struck out five without a walk on 85 pitches. He had his longest outing of the season and his second consecutive start without giving up a run. Bryan Baker struck out the side in the ninth inning for his 25th save.
The Rays have struck out the Yankees 45 times in the first three games of the series.
MARLINS 2, MARINERS 0
MIAMI (AP) — Kyle Stowers homered, major league batting leader Otto López had his 40th multi-hit game and Miami beat Seattle.
Tyler Phillips (2-3) pitched five sharp innings, allowing four hits on 71 pitches, before three relievers finished off Miami’s fifth straight victory. The Marlins are a major league-best 25-8 since June 1.
López went 2 for 4, increasing his average to .345 and becoming the first player since Houston’s Jose Altuve in 2014 with 40 multi-hit games before the All-Star break. His fifth-inning double tied Luis Arraez in 2023 for the most hits by a Marlins player before the All-Star break at 126.
Xavier Edwards added an RBI triple on a two-hit night.
TIGERS 6, ATHLETICS 1
DETROIT (AP) — Jake Rogers and Spencer Torkelson homered and Detroit won their fourth straight game, beating the Athletics.
Troy Melton (5-1) allowed one unearned run on four hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out nine as the Tigers won for the seventh time in eight games.
Jeffrey Springs (3-9) took the loss for the Athletics, who have lost five straight and nine of 10. He gave up six runs in 4 1/3 innings to fall to 0-9 in his last 15 starts.
NATIONALS 8, ASTROS 2
WASHINGTON (AP) — CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. both hit their 20th homers of the season, and Washington pounded Houston.
Foster Griffin (10-2) allowed one run in seven innings for Washington, which took two of three from Houston to move two games over .500. Griffin’s 10 victories are the most for a Nationals rookie since the club moved from Montreal before the 2005 season.
Brice Matthews had Houston’s lone RBI on a fifth-inning single.
CUBS 9, ORIOLES 7
BALTIMORE (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two of Chicago’s five home runs and the Cubs outslugged Baltimore.
Michael Conforto and Carson Kelly also went deep on the first two pitches of the fifth inning for Chicago, tying the game immediately after Pete Alonso’s two-run shot had given Baltimore a 3-1 lead.
Chicago then scored five runs in the seventh, including a three-run shot by Seiya Suzuki.
Tyler O’Neill homered twice for Baltimore and Coby Mayo also went deep.
METS 6, ROYALS 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Jared Young was plunked with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, sparking a five-run rally that lifted New York to a win over Kansas City.
Young took a 90 mph slider off his right elbow by Alex Lange (0-4), who allowed five straight baserunners with two outs. Brett Baty chased Lange with a two-run single and Young scored on a wild pitch by Jose Cuas, who then allowed an RBI single to Francisco Alvarez.
Brooks Raley (3-3) worked around Lane Thomas’ double in the eighth.
Rookie A.J. Ewing hit his first career leadoff homer, a 420-foot blast off opener Steven Cruz. Ewing is the fifth Mets player to hit a leadoff homer this season.
Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen had RBI singles for the Royals.
CARDINALS 5, BREWERS 1
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alec Burleson and José Fermín homered, Michael McGreevy worked 6 1/3 strong innings and St. Louis snapped a seven-game losing streak against Milwaukee.
McGreevy (4-7) struck out six and allowed five hits and one run on his 26th birthday. The 26-year-old right-hander in his third big league campaign made his career-high 18th start of the season.
After the Cardinals’ Masyn Winn hit a leadoff double in the first, Jordan Walker followed with an RBI double and Burleson drove in Walker with the third double of the inning.
Walker was 2 for 4 with two runs scored.
Fermín hit a 404-foot solo homer to left-center in the fourth, extending the lead to 3-0. Burleson homered on a cutter from Jared Koenig that traveled an estimated 443 feet to right in the sixth.
Kyle Harrison (8-2) allowed four hits and three runs in four innings, striking out two in the loss. Garrett Mitchell led the Brewers with a single and a double.
REDS 11, PHILLIES 5
CINCINNATI (AP) — Sal Stewart hit two homers — including one when Cincinnati went deep four times in the fourth inning — Noelvi Marte drove in four runs and the Reds defeated Philadelphia.
Chase Burns (11-1) picked up his 10th straight winning decision for the Reds, who are 3-7 in their last 10 games.
Kyle Schwarber hit his major league-leading 32nd homer for the Phillies. J.T. Realmuto also went deep.
RED SOX 5, WHITE SOX 0
CHICAGO (AP) — Jake Bennett allowed four hits in seven innings, Tsung-Che Cheng had his first multi-RBI game and Boston beat the Chicago for their fifth straight victory.
Boston has won 10 of 12 and and 13 of its last 18.
Bennett (4-3) has allowed more than two runs just twice in eight starts. He struck out four and walked one.
Cheng had an RBI single in the third to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead, and Ceddanne Rafaela drove in Cheng two batters later.
Anthony Seigler came across on a wild pitch from Davis Martin (9-4), but Seigler left the game after a collision with catcher Kyle Teel at the plate.
ANGELS 13, RANGERS 1
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mike Trout hit a two-run homer in his return rom the injured list, Jo Adell had two home runs and drove in a career-high five runs and the Los Angeles beat Texas.
Trout, who missed 17 games due to a strained right hamstring, hit a 438-foot shot that gave the Angels an 11-0 lead in the eighth. Trout has 48 career homers against the Rangers, the most by any player since the franchise moved to Texas in 1972 and the second-most ever against the club. Reggie Jackson hit 54 home runs against the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers.
Adell hit a two-run shot in the fourth inning and a three-run homer in the fifth that made it 7-0.
Vaughn Grissom went 4 for 5 with a double and four RBIs, and Zach Neto was 3 for 4 with two doubles and three runs. Denzer Guzman and Jose Siri each had two hits.
Angels starter Walbert Ureña threw 90 pitches and walked five in four scoreless innings before he was replaced by Samy Natera Jr. (1-0) to begin the fifth. Natera, a rookie left-hander, had five strikeouts in two perfect innings for his first career win.
TWINS 6, GUARDIANS 5
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Alan Roden hit a game-winning RBI single in the ninth inning as Minnesota beat Cleveland for their fourth straight win over the Guardians.
The Twins have won four in a row and five of six overall.
Roden singled twice and drove in two runs. Kody Clemens went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI, and Brooks Lee singled twice and drove in a pair of runs.
Yoendrys Gómez (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for his first win this season.
Brayan Rocchio and Rhys Hoskins homered for the Guardians.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease, middle, reacts with shortstop Andrés Giménez, left, and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after San Francisco Giants' Heliot Ramos hit a single during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
