It is a miss that Chris Iwelumo admits will haunt him for years. The Scotland striker had the chance to be a hero in Saturday's World Cup qualifier with Norway when Gary Naysmith's cross found him just a yard in front of goal and unmarked. Iwelumo somehow sent it wide and the game ended goalless.
"I was confident and I put my foot out and it hit the heel," said the Wolves frontman. "I'm gutted, but it's gone now and I've just got to move on." Iwelumo will constantly be reminded about the blunder, but he's not alone. There are many are other misses that have defied logic - and show that even the best footballers are human. Here we highlight just six of them.
With the goal wide open and Boro leading 2-1 in the dying minutes, the Nigerian striker lobbed the ball over the bar from just one yard. His West Brom manager, Bryan Robson, could not believe it, saying it was "almost impossible" not to score.
United won 4-1 in at New Jersey's Giants Stadium - but, in the closing stages when, under no pressure, their Uruguayan striker tapped wide of an open goal from less than six yards.
One of the classics from the past as the Liverpool striker rounded Nigel Spink in the Villa goal, and, with the goal wide open, leant back and side-footed the ball against the bar.
A dramatic, action-packed 3-3 draw had it all. A stunning strike from Reading's Jamie Lambert, the dismissal of the Forest keeper Dave Beasant, and Steve Stone's terrible open goal miss. According to Forest fans, it affected his confidence and took him more than a month to recover from it before scoring against Stockport.
A tempestuous FA Cup tie turned on an astonishing miss by the Welsh winger. With the match goalless, Giggs dribbled through and was left with an open goal. However, he fired the ball over and into the Stretford End. Arsenal went on to win 2-0.
The big Norwegian must have had a flashback when he saw the Iwelumo miss. He did the same for his former club Valencia in a Champions League game, steering over an open goal. He said: "What I would say is Chris shouldn't think about it too much. It happens in football."
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