Thomas Tuchel has done the math. He knows that if England is going to win this World Cup, they’re almost certainly going to need to survive a penalty shootout. And if history tells us anything, it’s that surviving a shootout is something England has historically been terrible at.
Since 1990, the Three Lions have taken part in ten shootouts at major tournaments. They’ve won three. That’s it. They’ve lost seven. The 2018 win over Colombia was a breakthrough. The Euro 2024 quarterfinal win against Switzerland was another. But those wins feel like exceptions, not the rule. Seven losses. That scar tissue runs deep.
Tuchel has followed Gareth Southgate’s lead here. Southgate made penalty prep a top priority after his own miss in 1996, and Tuchel has kept that emphasis. He’s talked openly about the likelihood of needing to win at least one shootout if England wants to go all the way. So when he picks his takers, he’s looking at the data.
Here’s the breakdown of the England players who have taken at least three penalties for club or country, ranked by conversion rate.
Reece James: 5 for 5
Perfect record. Can’t argue with that. The problem is that James has spent most of the last two years in the treatment room. Great if he’s on the pitch. Useless if he’s not.
Elliot Anderson: 5 for 5
Nobody talks about Anderson as a penalty option, but the numbers are clean. His last one for Nottingham Forest against Leeds last November was just a straight run-up and a rocket into the corner. The new Manchester City signing is quietly in the conversation.
Anthony Gordon: 3 for 3
Gordon has a 100% record, though one of those saves belongs to Jordan Pickford in training. His penalty against Costa Rica in the final warm-up friendly was emphatic. The Barcelona winger probably isn’t starting, which actually makes him more likely to take a spot kick. That’s how these things work.
Ivan Toney: 24 taken, 21 scored
That’s an 87.5% clip, and Toney is one of the few English players who genuinely looks like he enjoys the pressure. He said last week that he brings more than just penalties. Sure, Ivan. But the boss will take the penalties too. Just survive 119 minutes and you’ll get your moment.
Harry Kane: 22 taken, 19 scored
Kane is the obvious first-choice, and his record is excellent. But there’s a note here: most of his penalties are scored by wrapping his foot through the ball, not with the stutter-step jiggery-pokery that got him in trouble against Croatia before his reprieve. The lesson there is pretty clear.
Marcus Rashford: 22 taken, 19 scored
Same numbers as Kane on fewer attempts. If Rashford starts the match, he’ll probably be on the bench by the time penalties roll around. That’s just how England’s games tend to go.
Bukayo Saka: 6 taken, 5 scored
Saka’s record is strong but the memory of his Euro 2020 miss is still fresh. Are we prepared for what happens if he misses a second one at a major tournament? He might not even be fit enough to take one by the end of extra time.
Jude Bellingham: 7 taken, 5 scored
Bellingham stepped up in the Euro 2024 shootout against Switzerland and scored. All five of England’s takers scored that day. But Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold can’t help now, so the pressure on Bellingham is heavier.
Declan Rice: 12 taken, 8 scored
Rice said recently that he thinks this is the best crop of penalty takers England has ever had. He named Kane, Toney, Rashford, Gordon, Saka, and himself. That’s basically your first five and one for sudden death. Problem is, you’re not likely to have Gordon and Rashford on the pitch at the same time.
Eberechi Eze: 3 taken, 2 scored
Eze says he’d take one for England at the World Cup despite missing in the Champions League final. Someone needs to tell him to drop the stutter-step nonsense. Just hit it.
Ezri Konsa: 3 taken, 2 scored
Konsa already used up all his penalty luck with that one he didn’t concede against Ghana. Let’s not push it.
Noni Madueke: 16 taken, 9 scored
That’s a conversion rate of 56%. For a guy who’s paid to put the ball in the net, that’s rough. He’s only taken one penalty in the last two and a half years, and he missed it — for Arsenal against Portsmouth in the FA Cup.
Ollie Watkins: 4 taken, 2 scored
Watkins has a weird situation with England. He’s the first sub if they need a goal, and the first one back on the bench when Toney comes on in the 119th minute because they still haven’t scored. His penalty record is not inspiring.
Jordan Henderson: 6 taken, 3 scored
Better around the camp than on the spot. Henderson’s value in shootouts is more about organizing the buddy system and pointing at things than actually taking one. Tuchel kept that system from Southgate, and Henderson is the guy running it.
The bottom line: England has options. But options don’t matter if the history keeps repeating itself. Tuchel knows that. The players know that. We’ll see who’s willing to step up when the music stops.
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