Here we go again. England are into the knockout rounds of a World Cup 2026, and now the threat of penalties loom over every nerve-jangling game with Mexico coming up in the last 16.
England’s relationship with shootouts was, for a long time, a tortured one. They were knocked out of Italia ‘90 by West Germany via the heartbreak of penalties, and suffered defeats by Argentina (1998) and Portugal (2006) in the same way.
The losing streak was finally lifted in 2018 when Gareth Southgate’s meticulous preparation paid off in England’s first-ever World Cup shootout win, against Colombia in the round of 16.
England have since won two shootouts against Switzerland, in 2019 and 2024, either side of that painful Euro 2020 final defeat against Italy.
Roughly a third of World Cup knockout matches go to extra time, and around a quarter go to penalties. Thomas Tuchel has said he believes if England are to go all the way and lift the World Cup in North America, they will most likely need to win two penalty shootouts en route.
Tuchel vowed to pick up where Southgate’s regime left off. “I have – on the highest level, since years and years – a penalty programme that is so easy (for me to) just wait for people to tell me who are the best shooters. We trained it. We have a process in place. So we are prepared.
“This has become such an important part, a very special part of football now, that you can prepare and do the best to be prepared, which we did. We have assistant coaches, we have background staff who just set one of the best programmes in place that I have witnessed. So we know exactly what is going to happen. And the platform is there.”
So who are England’s best penalty takers, and who will step up when the moment comes?
Harry Kane
122 taken, 108 scored (89%)
England’s captain will take the first penalty. He has already scored 19 penalties this season for Bayern Munich and England, including his spot-kick against Croatia during the group stage after it was retaken.
Kane mixes two techniques, sometimes stuttering in his run-up and waiting for the goalkeeper to move first before placing it the opposite side, and sometimes running up and hitting the ball with power. The variation is an important tool to keep goalkeepers guessing.
Kane cleared the bar with his penalty against France in the quarter-finals in Qatar four years ago as England were eliminated from the World Cup. But, remarkably, he then went nearly three years without missing another.
And Kane has never missed in a shootout, in five attempts.
Ivan Toney
62 taken, 58 scored (94%)
Both Toney and Tuchel have insisted the striker is not just in the England squad to take penalties, which is true, but it is fair to assume that if the Al-Ahli striker wasn’t such a master of the art from 12 yards, he would probably be on holiday right now.
Toney’s record is remarkable, justifying his former manager Thomas Frank’s claim that he is the best in the world. His ice-cool technique, staring down the goalkeeper before scoring without looking at the ball, is incredibly impressive and few players have replicated it with such success.
Toney came off the bench to score a penalty in the shootout against Switzerland at Euro 2024, when England scored all five in their most impressive display from the spot. He has not played a minute of football yet at this World Cup, but if England are heading towards a shootout, Tuchel will call for Toney.
Bukayo Saka
16 taken, 14 scored (88%)
Saka was memorably applauded at away grounds at the start of the 2021/22 Premier League season, following the abuse he received in the wake of England’s shootout defeat.
He recovered well, scoring against Switzerland in the quarter-final shootout at Euro 2024. Saka only took two penalties for Arsenal this season but scored them both, and he has missed only once in the past three years.
Marcus Rashford
20 taken, 18 scored (90%)
Rashford was one of the England trio to miss in the Euro 2020 final, along with Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho, for which they received appalling racist abuse. Southgate later regretted bringing Rashford and Sancho on to the field so late in the game, with only seconds left at the end of extra time, giving them no time to get into the rhythm of the match and run off some adrenaline before the high-pressure shootout.
Rashford’s record is pretty impressive, albeit from a smaller sample size than some of his England teammates, and he has scored all of his last 14 penalties in a streak dating back to 2019. However, he has only taken one this season, for England against Serbia in qualifying.
The question with Rashford might be simply whether he is on the pitch. If he starts a knockout game which goes all the way to penalties, there is a good chance Tuchel uses one of his six substitutions to replace Rashford with…
Anthony Gordon
17 taken, 16 scored (94%)
If Rashford is off the field then Gordon will be on it, and he will be charged with taking a penalty should the moment come.
Gordon takes the responsibility for Newcastle and has a very good record, having scored 12 and missed only one since joining the club. He also scored a penalty in a World Cup warm-up win over Costa Rica when Kane was off the pitch.
Jude Bellingham
5 taken, 4 scored (80%)
Bellingham may not have much of a track record taking penalties – he hasn’t taken one for Real Madrid in 18 months, with Kylian Mbappe taking charge from the spot – but the 22-year-old has repeatedly shown he is the type of character to step up in England’s hour of need.
And Bellingham converted the second when England scored five perfect penalties against Switzerland two summers ago.
Declan Rice talked up England’s penalty prowess this week, and he name-checked Bellingham among the leading candidates to step forwards. “I look at this group now, I don’t think there’s a better crop of penalty-takers that England have probably ever had,” Rice said.
Declan Rice
3 taken, 1 scored (33%)
Rice has very little experience from the spot, and what experience he does have was not particularly convincing, missing two of his three for West Ham.
But he scored emphatically during Arsenal’s shootout defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, and is clearly an excellent dead-ball striker, both at corners and free-kicks. He is also a leader on the pitch for England.
Eberechi Eze
9 taken, 7 scored (78%)
Eze is a likely candidate to come on as an impact substitute in a 120-minute match, so he may well be given responsibility from the spot, although he doesn’t have huge experience in that department. He missed one of his four penalties for Crystal Palace, and his only penalty for Arsenal, during the Champions League final shootout, was missed.
One player who probably shouldn’t step up is Ollie Watkins. The striker has always been excellent for England his extra-time goal against Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-finals will live long in the memory of supporters. But Watkins’ penalty record reads 13 taken, six scored, seven missed, including misses in both of his most recent two for Aston Villa last year.
Other candidates include Elliot Anderson and Reece James – when he is fit to play – who both scored their one and only career penalty and have track records of converting in shootouts.
And if the shootout runs deep into sudden death, at least England know they can rely on Jordan Pickford, with his hands and his feet…
England’s likely five penalty takers: Kane, Toney, Saka, Rashford/Gordon, Bellingham.
