Bafana Bafana striker, Tokelo Rantie, missed a crucial penalty against Algeria on Monday in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, but even world superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi failed to score from the spot before.
Read: Rantie: I Take Full Responsibility
Rantie, who revealed that he was confident about scoring the penalty before blasting it against the crossbar, came under massive criticism for taking responsibility.
However, can he really be judged from one failed spot-kick, when even Ronaldo and Messi have suffered penalty failure in the past?
The Argentine added another missed penalty to his stats in the Copa del Rey against Atletico Madrid yesterday, but was lucky to convert the rebound.
Overall, Messi has scored 55 out of 69 penalties he has taken for club and country (stats according to Mr Chip), which calculates to a conversion rate of 80 percent.
His long-standing rival, Ronaldo, betters Messi's penalty record with a conversion rate of 87 percent, scoring 78 of his 90 spot kicks.
However, even Ronaldo missed important penalties - like in the 2012 Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich as Los Blancos were knocked out. He also missed in the 2008 Champions League final, but due to John Terry's slip, Manchester United still defeated Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho once said: "A player who takes a penalty is a player without fear. The best players, such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, also fail. Football is like that – that's life."
Rantie, meanwhile, did convert a spot-kick for his club Bournemouth earlier this season and has taken 'full responsibility' for his miss.
Despite all the criticism, he has also insisted he would take another penalty kick, which just proves that he has grown in confidence.
Essentially that is what coaches and fans want from their strikers, so chin up Tokelo - Bafana needs their best striker from the qualifying campaign to turn the tide in Equatorial Guinea.
Read: Rantie: I've Learnt From My Mistakes
