DUSSELDORF, Germany — Despite being a quarterfinalist, England doesn’t feel it has much to celebrate at Euro 2024.
Such is the gloom surrounding the team’s substandard performances that attacker Phil Foden even admitted he “feels sorry” for Gareth Southgate, on account of all the criticism the head coach has been receiving.
However, there is one factor that may provide some rare and unexpected solace. Believe it or not, and many will need an extra helping of proof for this one, England may no longer have to live in fear of penalty shootouts.
Shootouts, otherwise known in England for the past three decades as “dreaded” penalty shootouts; otherwise known as the brutal test of nerve that decides games still tied after extra-time in the Euros’ knockout round; have been the bane of the Three Lions’ existence.
The national team has taken part in nine of them at major tournaments, and won only two. It has suffered soul-crushing defeats by the spot-kick method in the World Cup’s 1990 semifinal, its 1998 Round of 16 and 2006 quarterfinal, plus the Euros’ 1996 semifinal, 2004 quarterfinal, 2012 quarterfinal and, possibly worst of all, 2020 final — at Wembley Stadium, no less.
But if you believe that history is less important than quality, and that England’s prior failures have had more to do with poor preparation and limited depth of good penalty exponents, then things may be looking up.
Ahead of the team’s quarterfinal against Switzerland in Dusseldorf on Saturday (noon ET on FOX), proficiency from 12 yards out might be the least of Southgate’s worries, especially when paled up against his left-back conundrum, his holding midfielder conundrum, his Foden/Jude Bellingham conundrum, his Cole Palmer conundrum, and his which-conundrum-is-the-biggest-conundrum conundrum.
Finally, and this has virtually never been the case before, he has a bunch of players used to taking and scoring penalties in high-pressure situations, doing so routinely and without too much fuss for their clubs.
“We definitely have a lot more regular penalty takers for their clubs than we had three or four years ago, in some instances the second penalty takers for their clubs,” Southgate told reporters.
Captain Harry Kane would be the first name on Southgate’s list, and probably the first in the order, should 120 minutes prove insufficient to find a winner. Kane missed against France during regulation in a 2-1 defeat that knocked England out of the 2022 World Cup at the quarterfinal stage, but has made 15 in a row since.
“Whenever I miss a penalty, no matter what game it is, I always pride myself on then making sure I get on another good run,” Kane said.
Forward Ivan Toney, who came on as a substitute in the comeback victory over Slovakia and helped set up Kane’s go-ahead goal, would likely be on the field again if another extra-time situation arose. Toney, from English Premier League side Brentford, has scored 30 penalties from 32 attempts in his pro career.
Palmer, the young Chelsea playmaker, took 10 and scored all of them over the past season, his big breakout. He has not started in the tournament but came off the bench in the past two games.
Bellingham’s poise, maturity and big-game mentality would make him another obvious choice. Not only did he score that epic overhead kick against Slovakia, but the 21-year-old also took and scored penalties for Real Madrid this past season and hit the target in the team’s Champions League shootout against Manchester City.
Bukayo Saka is a regular penalty taker with Arsenal, but did miss the final kick of the Euro 2020 final, his effort saved by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
“I’m not sure it’s the ‘best group of penalty takers we’ve ever had,'” Kane added. “But it’s probably the most experienced group we’ve had. If you compare the amount of takers we’ve got compared to the last Euros, I think having regular takers is important and (we have) players who have taken some in high-pressure penalty shootouts since or in big games since.”
England will have to hope that it is as simple as having the best takers, and not some grip on the national psyche, or a curse, or that past pain piles on such pressure to make future disappointment more likely.
Penalty prep has evolved. For many years now, a swath of research into the other team’s kicking preferences can be expected. We have seen notes written on water bottles to help remind goalkeepers, iPad highlights used for a quick refresher, handwritten notes, and so on.
Under Southgate, England have employed things like keeper Jordan Pickford picking up the ball and handing it to his teammate before the player kicks, so he does not have to fetch it himself.
The only shootout in the Round of 16 stage at Euro 2024 was dramatic, and unusual. It came after Cristiano Ronaldo missed one in extra-time and burst into tears. He then made one in the shootout as Portugal converted all three, its goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved all three of Slovenia’s, and the whole thing was over in the shortest possible time.
There are various opinions on whether it is right, or even fair, to bring on a sub merely for the purpose of taking a kick, which might even be their first and only action of the day.
“Hindsight is always the master in those moments,” Southgate said. “You make decisions for the right reasons at the time, with the evidence you have before you. But you will be the only one who ends up accountable for those decisions.”
It is not easy being an international coach, with all those hopes of a nation upon you. England has been so unconvincing to date, that the public annoyance back home is strong and impassioned.
“I feel sorry for Gareth,” Foden said. “The players have got to take some of the blame. There has to be some leaders to get together and find out a solution to why it is not working. There is only so much the manager can do.”
The sympathy is nice, for sure. But the thing that would make England sorrier than anything would be getting knocked out on penalties yet again, and the scars it would pick open.
The good news is that there is an antidote at last — in theory.
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