da betcris： If the Three Lions' tournament history is anything to go by, they are highly likely to face a shootout in Germany, so they better be prepared
da bwin： 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…
Getty Images10Jarrod 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.
AdvertisementGetty 9Anthony 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.
(C)Getty Images8Conor 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.
Getty Images7Eberechi 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.