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Ranking of England’s top ten penalty takers
Whenever England go to a major tournament, the spectre of penalties is always on everyone’s minds. And for good reason. The Three Lions have contested eight shootouts in their last 14 outings at either European Championships or World Cups, and they have won just two of them, beating Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro 1996 and Colombia in the last eight of the 2018 World Cup.
Their success over Colombia in Moscow, plus a Nations League shootout win against Switzerland a year later, had some people wondering whether the team’s curse from 12 yards had come to an end. But then Gareth Southgate’s side were beaten by Italy in the shootout in the Euro 2020 final despite it being at Wembley, kicking in front of their own fans and taking the lead.
An inability to convert penalties also saw England knocked out of the last World Cup, albeit not in the usual way. Even Harry Kane let the weight of history get to him when he smashed his spot-kick over the bar in the quarter-final against France, wasting the chance to draw the Three Lions level.
Having drawn three of their first four matches after 90 minutes in a hugely underwhelming showing at Euro 2024, it seems highly likely that England will once again have to do the 12-yard dance if they want to win the trophy. And don’t be surprised if Saturday’s quarter-final tie with Switzerland is decided on penalties, as three of the last four knockout games the Swiss have played at the Euros have gone to spot-kicks.
GOAL runs through England’s best penalty-takers who have the best chance of holding their nerve if they need to take the long, lonely walk to the penalty spot in Germany…
🔟Jarrod Bowen
Bowen had a bright cameo in the opening game against Serbia, but has not been used since the 1-1 draw with Denmark. He is no stranger to penalties, having taken nine at senior level and scoring six. It’s not a convincing enough record to bring him on just to take a penalty, but if he is already on the pitch, it could be worth asking him to step up.
The West Ham forward also has a better record than Ollie Watkins, who has scored just four of the nine penalties he has taken at senior level.
9️⃣Anthony Gordon
Gordon has taken eight penalties at senior and youth level, scoring six of them. Only once has he attempted a penalty for current club Newcastle, but he made no mistake and scored against Bournemouth’s Neto.
8️⃣Conor Gallagher
Gallagher has a 100 percent record when it comes to taking penalties, albeit he has only taken one penalty at senior level, when he was on loan at West Brom. He converted that one and struck five out of five into the net at youth level.
You’d imagine that the Chelsea midfielder would go for power over placement if asked to set up in a shootout and he won’t be caught trying a Panenka.
7️⃣Eberechi Eze
Crystal Palace winger Eze proved a useful substitute when he came on against Slovakia, playing at left-back and then in midfield, as well as helping set up the winner. He would be useful to have around in the event of penalties too, as he has scored eight out of nine attempts.
He missed his first career penalty, but has been unerring since, netting eight in a row for QPR, Palace and England’s Under-21s.
6️⃣Trent Alexander-Arnold
Alexander-Arnold will struggle to get back into the starting line-up after two poor displays against Serbia and Denmark, but he could be useful off the bench if penalties are on the horizon. He has a 100 percent record from 12 yards, scoring four times for England’s youth teams and three times for Liverpool’s senior side.
5️⃣Jude Bellingham
Bellingham will surely want to take a penalty if England make it to a shootout. He relishes the spotlight and wants to be the hero, as he demonstrated by shouting “Who else?” after scoring his bicycle-kick to save England from humiliation against Slovakia. The midfielder has scored all four penalties he has taken in his senior career, including netting in the shootout for Real Madrid at Manchester City in the Champions League in April.
4️⃣Bukayo Saka
Saka had never taken a senior penalty when he was given the daunting task of kicking England’s fifth spot-kick in the Euro 2020 final. It was a cruel burden to place on the then-19-year-old’s shoulders, but since that painful miss he has grown into a highly proficient penalty taker, scoring 13 out of 14 for Arsenal during matches and shootouts.
3️⃣Cole Palmer
The pressure of penalties can cause even the most reliable personalities to crack, but some players barely seem to notice pressure, and Palmer is one of those. The forward struts around with the air of someone without a care in the world, but whenever he has a spot-kick he is deadly concentrated.
He scored all nine penalties for Chelsea last season and coolly slotted from the spot for England against Bosnia & Herzegovina ahead of the Euros. He even had a 100 percent record at penalties for Manchester City’s U18 team.
2️⃣Ivan Toney
Brentford striker Toney has an exceptional record from 12 yards, scoring 37 times from 40 attempts, across matches and shootouts. Indeed, his assuredness from the spot is surely one of the reasons why he was included in the squad as a third centre-forward.
Toney’s one goal for England, against Belgium, came from the spot. He also has a stunning record in shootouts, being on the winning side on seven out of eight occasions. So Three Lions fans will be hoping he is on the pitch if the scores are level after 120 minutes.
1️⃣Harry Kane
Kane is unlikely to ever forget skying his penalty against Hugo Lloris in 2022, but he is still one of the best takers in the business, scoring 79 of his 90 penalties across matches and shootouts. And that infamous penalty at Al Bayt Stadium was the last kick he has squandered, having buried his last 15.
If England do have to endure another shootout, the captain should be the very first to step up, not least because he has a 100% record of scoring in the five shootouts he has played in for club and country.
