England manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that his team will follow Gareth Southgate’s penalty shoot-out blueprint at the World Cup.
Tuchel’s side face DR Congo in their first knockout game of the tournament on Wednesday, a scenario that opens up the potential for a penalty shoot-out.
The match from Atlanta at 17:00 BST is live on One and the iPlayer.
Prior to Southgate’s appointment as England manager in 2016, the national team had a poor record in tournament shoot-outs – winning just one of seven.
But under Southgate, England took their penalty preparations to a new level which resulted in the team winning three out of four shoot-outs.
Tuchel had confirmed the team would continue with the processes established by Southgate.
“The FA has a programme that has been in place for years and we follow the programme,” Tuchel said.
“We are prepared. We have a process, the players have a process.”
Despite the plan, Tuchel also added a note of caution.
“I think it is difficult to simulate the situation (of a penalty shoot-out),” he said.
“I heard Thierry Henry say he can’t remember the walk from the halfway line to the penalty spot in his first penalty shoot out for France – you cannot train that.”
Asked if the players will be given the option to take a penalty, Tuchel replied: “We know who takes them and we know the order but we don’t know who finishes the game.”
