England have so far cunningly avoided being eliminated from World Cup 2026 on penalties by not yet playing in a knock-out match.
The Group L winners will get their chance. Their round of 32 fixture against DR Congo is the first of what Thomas Tuchel will hope is many World Cup games to come for the Three Lions but every one of them will come with the risk of you-know-what.
England’s national scarring by penalty shootouts is the stuff of football legend but their performance on spot kicks was revolutionised under Gareth Southgate. They have won their most recent shootout in the World Cup, European Championship and Nations League, though the final of EURO 2020 was the most important of the last four and went the other way.
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Every England player’s penalty record
Player | Career penalties* | Scored | England shootouts | Scored | Conversion Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Elliot Anderson | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
Reece James | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
Jordan Pickford | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% |
Ivan Toney | 61 | 57 | 1 | 1 | 93.55% |
Anthony Gordon | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 92.86% |
Harry Kane | 119 | 105 | 2 | 2 | 88.43% |
Marcus Rashford | 21 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 87.50% |
Jude Bellingham | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 83.33% |
Eberechi Eze | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 80.00% |
Bukayo Saka | 18 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 78.95% |
Noni Madueke | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 75.00% |
Morgan Rogers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50.00% |
Ollie Watkins | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 46.15% |
Declan Rice | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33.33% |
Jordan Henderson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33.33% |
The table above includes every player in the England squad at World Cup 2026 who has taken a penalty. It includes only senior football (albeit with England Under-21 games counted too) and excludes club shootouts.
Shootouts with England at the senior level have been included. Mercifully, all of these players are unblemished by the ungolden era of England being genuinely terrible from 12 yards.
England’s shootout takers
England’s penalties are taken by Harry Kane, England’s long-time captain, record goalscorer and reliable penalty king. He has of coursed missed an important penalty or two but his career stats stack up very well indeed.
Kane has already scored from the spot at World Cup 2026 but it wasn’t without a heart-in-mouth moment. In the opening group stage fixture against Croatia, Kane’s penalty was initially saved by Dominik Livakovic.
The goalkeeper had stepped off his line, however, and Josko Gvardiol’s encroachment made sure a retake was required. Kane thumped it home.
Who will take penalties for England in the event of a penalty shootout?
If England do end up in a penalty shootout this summer, there’s actually relatively little experience of the situation in the squad. You can bet they’ll be well drilled regardless.
Kane will step up, of course, while England’s experienced takers and technicians will be called upon to complete the set. Marcus Rashford, Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka might find themselves conveniently on the pitch come shootout time.
Jude Bellingham will be expected to take responsibility for a penalty too. Anthony Gordon will be in the running if he’s on the pitch and Rashford, Eze or Saka are not.
The only person who really knows the running order is Tuchel himself, and we know the England manager has had penalties in mind for some time. The inclusion of Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney was, he suggested by way of an explanation, driven by data.
The former Brentford striker has an exceptional penalty record over a very substantial sample size.
FourFourTwo’s expected penalty shootout shortlist, in order:
- Harry Kane
- Marcus Rashford
- Jude Bellingham
- Declan Rice
- Ivan Toney
- Bukayo Saka
- Elliot Anderson
- Marc Guehi
- Djed Spence
- Nico O’Reilly
Goalkeepers
Who is England's best penalty saver?
Pickford will be in goal for any penalty shootout England find themselves in. There’s no chance Tuchel hooks him for a specialist late in extra time, not least because he has one particular iron-fisted World Cup save on his CV.
England’s number one has also saved 11 non-shootout penalties out of 69 in the entirety of his career, a save rate of around 15%.
Dean Henderson’s save percentage is a very impressive 35% thanks to 12 saves from 34 non-shootout penalties faced.
James Trafford has saved five penalties out of 16, conceding the only penalty he has faced in his young England career in the friendly against Uruguay in March.
