Of the 10 knockout games played at the 2022 World Cup so far, four of them have been settled by penalty shootouts including the first two quarter-finals on Friday.
Croatia equalled Germany’s record of winning the most World Cup shootouts without losing one (with four) when they stunned Brazil 4-2 on spot-kicks after 120 minutes of regulation and extra time had ended 1-1. All four of Croatia’s successes have come in the past two World Cups.
There was further drama in the second quarter-final when the Netherlands came from 2-0 down against Argentina to draw level with Wout Weghorst scoring twice off the bench. Despite that setback, Argentina recovered to win 4-3 on penalties, with Lautaro Martinez dispatching the decisive kick.
Ahead of England’s last eight clash against France, Gareth Southgate insisted that his players are as prepared as they can be for penalties and hinted that there is a set order of takers should it come to that.
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Southgate, you’d imagine, would rather England secure victory in regulation time given the country’s poor penalty shootout record over the years. He knows about England’s shootout woe more than most having missed a crucial one against Germany at Euro 1996.
Although the Three Lions ended their World Cup penalty hoodoo by beating Colombia in 2018, they have only won three shootouts out of 10 in their history. Of those 10, three have come in World Cups: against West Germany in 1990, Argentina in 1998 and Portugal in 2006.
While England have improved their record during the Southgate era, beating Colombia in 2018 and Switzerland in 2019 by that method, they lost their biggest game in 55 years on penalties against Italy in last summer’s Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
England’s penalty shootout record
Wins
- 6-5 vs Switzerland (Nations League, 2019)
- 5-4 vs Colombia (World Cup, 2018)
- 4-2 vs Spain (European Championship, 1996)
Losses:
- 4-3 vs Italy (European Championship, 2021)
- 4-2 vs Italy (European Championship, 2012)
- 3-1 vs Portugal (World Cup, 2006)
- 8-7 vs Portugal (European Championship, 2004)
- 6-5 vs Argentina (World Cup, 1998)
- 7-6 vs Germany (European Championship, 1996)
- 5-4 vs West Germany (World Cup, 1990)
Who could take them for England?
As Southgate alluded to in his press conference, England’s pre-planned order may not end up counting for much. With five substitutes available to use in normal time plus another in extra-time, the team that ends the game against France could be considerably different to the one that starts it.
One thing that is certain, though, is that barring injury or suspension, Harry Kane will take one and as he has done in the past, likely go first. Brazil’s gamble of saving their most experienced penalty taker until last backfired spectacularly against Croatia when Neymar didn’t even have the chance to step forward after Rodrygo and Marquinhos had missed. England will almost certainly not take that kind of risk given Kane’s record.
Of the 72 penalties that Kane has taken for club and country, he has converted 62 of them (86 per cent). Kane scored England’s first penalty as they triumphed over Colombia four years ago and also beat his long-term club colleague at Spurs, Hugo Lloris, from the spot in a friendly against France in 2017. That battle of wits could provide an intriguing sub-plot to the shootout should it reach that stage.
Beyond Kane, it is difficult to say with any degree of certainty who else could make the longest walk in football from the halfway line to the penalty spot. Only two of England’s squad members are the designated takers for their clubs: Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Callum Wilson of Newcastle.
Saka memorably missed the decisive kick during last summer’s Euro final against Italy with his first ever penalty in professional football. However, he has since converted all three of his attempts for Arsenal in the Premier League. Wilson, meanwhile, has scored all seven of his penalties for Newcastle since joining from Bournemouth in 2020.
Although England lack regular takers, there are a number of players in the squad who have experience. Marcus Rashford, who also missed in the Euro 2020 final, was Manchester United’s first-choice before Bruno Fernandes and then Cristiano Ronaldo joined the club. He has a strong record, scoring 15 of his 18 attempts in senior football.
Due to Jamie Vardy’s presence, James Maddison hasn’t taken many penalties for Leicester after being previous club Norwich City’s designated first-choice, but he has attempted 14 in total of which 10 have been scored. Mason Mount could be another option; he has scored both of his Premier League penalties for Chelsea, but missed in the shootout during their FA Cup final loss to Liverpool last season.
Expect Harry Maguire, Eric Dier and Kieran Trippier to be in the mix too. Maguire has taken nine penalties in his career, all of which have come in shootouts, and converted six of them including a confident effort against Italy. Dier has scored four of his five attempts, the most memorable of which clinched the last 16 tie against Colombia, while Trippier has converted three of his five, also hitting the target in that match.
Raheem Sterling is one of England’s most experienced players but has a notoriously sketchy record from the spot, missing as many as he scored (six apiece). And Jordan Pickford could be a wildcard after scoring against Switzerland three years ago. The Everton goalkeeper revealed that he has been practicing them in training.
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