There is a collective trauma surrounding England’s penalty record which has not gone away – but their record under Gareth Southgate is surprisingly impressive.
In the last three (and a bit) decades, the Three Lions have been involved in eight shootouts at major tournaments, losing six and winning just two.
Victory over Spain at Euro 96 was ultimately overshadowed by semi-final heartache against Germany, with the current England boss missing the crucial spot-kick.
However, the run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup included a shootout win over Colombia. Eric Dier scored the decider from 12 yards on that occasion.
What is often forgotten is that England also beat Switzerland on penalties in 2019 in the (very, very important) Uefa Nations League third-placed play-off.
So that’s two in a row they have won, and it’s been nine years since their last defeat by that method, which came against Italy at Euro 2012.
Those statistics will not prevent a collective gasp should the final outlast 90 minutes and extra time at Wembley Stadium on Sunday night. Should that happen, who could take England’s penalties?
Harry Kane
Kane has scored 11 penalties for England and has only missed six of the 51 he has taken in his career for club and country.
Raheem Sterling
Streling and Kane are England’s top scorers at the tournament with three goals each. The Manchester City star has scored two international penalties.
Marcus Rashford
One of the biggest factors deciding Southgate’s five-man list is who will still be on the pitch after 120 minutes. Rashford has not been starting but given that in the current squad, only Kane has scored more international spot-kicks – the Manchester United forward has four – he could be introduced especially.
Kieran Trippier
Kyle Walker is expected to start but Trippier scored an emphatic penalty against Colombia – though that’s the only penalty he’s taken for England.
Jordan Pickford?!
Pickford could become the hero in more ways than one. The goalkeeper has saved 11 of the 46 penalties he’s faced in his career. Yet he could also prove an ace up Southgate’s sleeve. In the Nations League shootout win over Switzerland, the Everton stopper scored England’s fifth penalty before saving from Josip Drmic. However, he admitted afterwards that he’s “not a normal penalty taker” and his last effort was in a game of far less significance.
Other options
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Calvert-Lewin hasn’t featured yet, despite calls for him to replace Kane after the Tottenham striker drew a blank in the first three matches of the tournament. The Everton frontman has scored two penalties for England, though one was only in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland.
Jadon Sancho
Southgate appeared keen for Sancho to iron out the finer details of his move to Manchester United before giving him a start. With that distraction out the way, the 21-year-old could be introduced from the bench to take a penalty (he is not expected to start) having scored one previous spot-kick for the national side.
Mason Mount
Mount has only ever taken one penalty in his career so far, which he scored against Southampton.
More from i on Euro 2020
- Why there have been so many own goals – from tiredness to lazy defending
- We need to talk about Jordan Pickford – the unsung hero of this England team
- What the Premier League could learn from Euro 2020’s controversy-free referees
- The football nomad who became a hero for his role in saving Eriksen’s life
- How to watch every Euro 2020 match on TV and online in the UK
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3xoIpq4
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