Declan Rice doesn’t just think England can win a shootout. He thinks this group might be the best the country has ever had from the spot.
The Arsenal midfielder made that clear ahead of England’s round of 32 matchup against DR Congo, a knockout game that kicks off a World Cup bracket with an extra round. Statistically, that means a penalty shootout is almost inevitable somewhere along the way.
England’s history from 12 yards used to be a punchline. But under Gareth Southgate, they flipped the script. They won three of four shootouts — Colombia in 2018, Switzerland in the 2019 Nations League third-place game, and Switzerland again in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals. The only loss came in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.
Nobody’s hiding from the moment
Rice admitted he hasn’t always felt great about penalties. But that changed in a big moment last season. During the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest, he stepped up for Arsenal and buried his kick, even though the Gunners lost the shootout.
“I’ve never been the strongest penalty-taker, but I feel like over time — my penalty in the Champions League final, I’ve never been so confident for a penalty,” Rice said. “I don’t know what it was, I just have my process, I knew where I was going to go. I studied the keeper.”
He compared that calm to an earlier spot kick against Crystal Palace in the regular season, when he said he was nervous despite scoring. The difference was the process. And he sees that same confidence across the squad.
“I look at this group now. I don’t think there’s a better crop of penalty takers that England have probably ever had, to be honest with you,” Rice said.
He rattled off names like Harry Kane, Ivan Toney, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka, and Jude Bellingham. He included himself in that list. Toney was brought into Thomas Tuchel’s squad partly because he’s known as a penalty specialist, and Kane remains the designated taker.
Kane sets the standard
Rice pointed to Kane’s preparation as the gold standard. The captain apparently decides where he’s going the day before the game and never second-guesses himself. No doubt creeps in.
“I think with Harry, it is incredible repetition and his process before the game’s even played,” Rice said. “The day before, he knows if he gets a penalty the next day, where he’s going. There’s no doubt in his mind.”
Rice laughed when asked if he’d share his opinion about the squad’s penalty prowess with Kane directly. He didn’t think that was necessary.
“I can’t go up to Kane and tell him about pens, because he is the best penalty taker. Everyone’s mentality, we don’t have to say anything, it’s just relentless.”
Then he added a final thought that felt less like a quote and more like a warning to England’s opponents.
“Let’s hope the keepers can save a few.”
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