England’s best hope of winning a penalty shoot-out at Euro 2024 lies with these players

England have been doing extra penalty practice in a bid to avoid more major tournament spot-kick heartache.

Gareth Southgate’s team were beaten on penalties in the final of the last European Championship to Italy, while Harry Kane missed from the spot in England’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to France.

All of England’s Euro 2024 games can now be decided by penalties in the knockout stage of the competition, starting against Slovakia in the round of 16 on Sunday.

England’s regular takers, such as Kane, Cole Palmer and Ivan Toney, always practice their spot-kicks but the entire squad, including Southgate’s defenders, have been breaking off into small groups to work on penalties following training.

Southgate’s players are keeping the exact details of their penalty practice under wraps, however, in an effort to avoid giving a “competitive advantage” to opponents.

Defenders Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa, confirmed they have been part of England’s penalty practice.

Konsa said: “We’ve been practising it after training, a few players go off and practice penalties. Look, we’re not thinking about going to penalties on Sunday, but if it comes to it, we’ll be well prepared.”

Crystal Palace star Guehi added: “We’ve been doing a lot of work. The work’s been going really well across the team on penalties. It’s important to make sure we’re ready.”

Both Guehi and Konsa have positive memories of taking penalties in a shoot-out, although Guehi has promised never to repeat the ‘no-look’ spot-kick he scored for Chelsea in a Uefa Youth League match against Dinamo Zagreb in 2019.

“Never. Never. Never, ever again,” said Guehi with a smile. “That’ll stay wherever it is. If goalkeepers have a look on the internet… but I don’t think they’re searching for me on Google or anything anyway. That’s going to stay where it is, I don’t think that’s going to come out again.”

England’s first-choice firing squad

In nine of England’s last 15 major tournaments, they have been forced to navigate the pressures and stresses of a penalty shoot-out. In seven of those shoot-outs, they failed to handle the magnitude of the occasion.

It is not inevitable that Southgate’s side will face another shoot-out in Germany this summer, although the odds suggest it is likely if they are going to go all the way in the tournament. Of the last eight European Championships, only two were won by teams who did not have to endure a shoot-out.

In the 2020 Euros, ultimate winners Italy had to survive two of them – just as Argentina did on their way to winning the World Cup in 2022.

At major tournaments, shoot-outs are becoming increasingly common. From 2000 to 2012, at European Championships and World Cups, there was an average of two shoot-outs per tournament. Since then, there has been an average of four per tournament.

Who, then, should be on England’s list of takers if their fate is to be decided from 12 yards? Here, Telegraph Sport provides the penalty record of each member of Southgate’s squad – and analyses which of those players would be best-placed to step up for their country.

The spot-kick regulars

England have four players who regularly take penalties for their clubs: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Cole Palmer (Chelsea) and Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).

Of those four, Palmer has taken the fewest penalties, with just 11 overall in his career — but he has scored every one of them. That makes him the only England player with a 100 per cent success rate from at least 10 penalties in his career.

Toney is described as the “best penalty taker in the world” by Brentford head coach Thomas Frank and his record is extraordinary. From 38 attempts in his career, Toney has scored 35 goals, a success rate of 92 per cent.

Kane is England’s undisputed penalty taker, and has scored 21 international goals from the spot for his country (plus two more goals in penalty shoot-outs). Over the course of his career, he has scored 76 penalties from 86 attempts (an 88 per cent success rate).

Saka’s most famous penalty, meanwhile, was the crucial effort that was saved in the final of the 2020 European Championship. That strike was the anomaly, though, as Saka has scored 13 of the 14 penalties he has taken for Arsenal, including shoot-outs.

If these four players are on the pitch as a shoot-out looms this summer, they will surely be expected to put their hands up for a penalty.

The reliable alternatives

Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze has an impressive record from the spot, scoring seven from eight attempts (88 per cent) in his career. That record includes seven consecutive successful penalties in a row, for Queens Park Rangers, England under-21s and Crystal Palace.

Jude Bellingham is also a dependable penalty taker: he has scored five from five penalties in his career, including two in shoot-outs.

And then there is Lewis Dunk, the Brighton centre-back. Dunk has taken four penalties in shoot-outs for his club, and has scored every time. This record includes his successful effort in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United in April last year.

The unknown quantities

Some players go through their entire careers without having to take a penalty, and there are important members of Southgate’s squad who have never experienced the stress of a spot-kick in the senior game.

The likes of Phil Foden, Trent Alexander-Arnold and John Stones have never taken a penalty in a professional match. Irrespective of their technical skill, it would surely be cruel to ask them to step up for the first time now, in the knockout stages of a major tournament. Saka’s missed penalty against Italy, it should not be forgotten, was the first effort of his senior career.

There are others who have taken just a handful, but with encouraging results. Anthony Gordon has scored two from two efforts, while Conor Gallagher, Ezri Konsa, Kyle Walker and Jordan Pickford (for England, in the Nations League) have all scored the one penalty they have taken in a shoot-out.

The risky picks

Who is better-placed to take a penalty: a player who has taken very few in their professional life, or a player who has taken plenty but with mixed success? That’s up to Southgate and his coaching staff to decide.

The likes of Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Watkins and Kieran Trippier all have considerable experience from the spot. Their efficiency from 12 yards, though, has not been great.

Of those three, Bowen is the most reliable. The West Ham United forward has scored eight of the 11 penalties (73 per cent) he has taken in his career.

Watkins (six goals from 11 penalties) and Trippier (three goals from six penalties) have records that would worry any England supporter. As strong personalities, they will no doubt be willing to make that walk towards the spot. The evidence, however, suggests that Southgate and his coaching staff probably should not let them.