Jordan Pickford and Trent Alexander-Arnold were the heroes in England’s last penalty shootout out win (Photo: Getty)
Dread it, run from it, the fear of a penalty shootout is always at the heart of every England fan, even more so ahead of the Euro 2024 final against Spain.
Thankfully, the Three Lions’ record in penalty shootouts has greatly improved under Gareth Southgate, as proved just a week ago when Switzerland were defeated from the spot.
On paper at least, the current crop of England stars are well-stocked with penalty prowess, with the squad containing the likes of Harry Kane, Cole Palmer and Ivan Toney.
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We’ve crunched the numbers to take a look at the Three Lions’ penalty record through history and the record of those likely to step up tonight.
Minimum of five penalties and data taken from U18 level and above, including shoot-outs in cup competitions. Data courtesy of www.topoffshoresportsbooks.com
England’s penalty record
As you may have guessed, England’s record at penalty shootouts at major tournaments leaves a lot to be desired, winning just four of the 11 they’ve taken part in.
By contrast, Spain have won seven of 13 but here’s a good omen for you: England’s very first victory on penalties was at Euro 1996 against Spain…
Harry Kane scored from the spot against the Netherlands (Photo: Getty)
But more importantly, they have won three of four shootouts under Southgate, namely against Columbia at the 2018 World Cup and against Switzerland in both the 2019 Nations League and Euro 2024.
The only defeat under the current boss was of course in the Euro 2020 final, when Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed and received a wave of horrid, racist abuse in the aftermath.
But as mentioned, England are well-stocked with brilliant penalty takers, putting away all five spot-kicks in the Swiss quarter-final, with the first taker yet to miss a penalty in his entire career…
1. Cole Palmer (16/16, 100% success rate)
Cole Palmer is faultless from 12 yards (Picture: Getty)
Palmer is yet to miss a single penalty in his career and scored all nine attempts in the Premier League for Chelsea last season.
Palmer got off the mark for England in the Euro 2024 warm-up win over Bosnia at the start of June and was the first man to step up against the Swiss.
2. Trent Alexander-Arnold (8/8, 100% success rate)
Alexander-Arnold is another member of the 100% club with a perfect eight from eight, dispatching the winning spot-kick in the quarter-final.
The Liverpool man has never taken one at senior level in normal time or extra-time but was 4/4 for England’s U19s and has scored for the Reds in shootouts in the FA Cup, League Cup and European Super Cup.
3. Conor Gallagher (6/6, 100% success rate)
Five of these have come for Chelsea’s U18s.
Gallagher’s one senior penalty was in the League Cup while on loan at West Brom to protect his perfect record.
4. Ivan Toney (38/41, 93% success rate)
Toney is an excellent option to have from the bench if England go to penalties (Picture: Getty)
Toney scored his only England goal against Belgium in the March international break and displayed his remarkable ‘no look’ technique against the Swiss.
The Brentford striker has taken part in more shootouts than anyone in the England squad, with an impressive eight successes from nine attempts.
5. Eberechi Eze (8/9, 89% success rate)
Eze missed his first ever penalty for QPR in 2019 but has scored 8/8 ever since.
These include two successful attempts in the Premier League, one for England’s U21s and another in the League Cup.
6. Harry Kane (80/91, 88% success rate)
Kane has scored twice as many penalties in his career than any other member of the England squad.
Since his agonising miss in the World Cup 2022 quarter-final defeat to France, Kane has been faultless, finding the back of the net 16 times in a row and boasts a perfect 5/5 record in shootouts in his career.
Surprisingly subbed off before the Swiss shootout, the captain added to his tally in regular time of the semi-final against the Netherlands.
7. Bukayo Saka (17/20, 85% success rate)
Saka has put his Euro 2020 miss behind him (Picture: Getty)
Saka infamously missed the decisive kick against Italy in the Euro 2020 final but has since established himself as Arsenal’s first-choice taker.
The Gunners fan favourite has scored all but one of his 13 attempts since that fateful night at Wembley, including 4/4 in shootouts and was the third taker against the Swiss.
8. Anthony Gordon (8/10, 80% success rate)
Having the likes of Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson as teammates means Gordon has only taken one senior penalty in normal time, which he duly scored.
Gordon, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool this summer, is 2/2 in domestic shoot-outs and 8/10 overall.
9. Jarrod Bowen (7/10, 70% success rate)
Bowen has a slightly patchy record of 6/9 at club level and hasn’t taken once since missing for the Hammers against Liverpool in October 2022.
The flying forward did score in his one and only shoot-out against Manchester City in the League Cup, however.
10. Ollie Watkins (6/11, 55% success rate)
Watkins has scored only 4 of his 9 efforts mid-game and hasn’t been entrusted with one since missing in May 2023.
He is at least 2/2 in shootouts, including one in the Europa Conference League this season, and after scoring the late winner against the Dutch, he may well be up for spot-kick.
11. Kieran Trippier (3/6, 50% success rate)
Trippier converted the crucial fourth against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup to help England record their first win on penalties in over 20 years.
His record beyond that is average, however, missing 2/2 in normal time and in a League Cup shootout defeat against Chelsea last season, with Trippier seemingly more successful from free kicks.