England’s potential penalty takers in a World Cup shootout vs Argentina

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The Independent

15 July 2026

Here we go again.

England

are into the knockout rounds of a

World Cup

2026, and now the threat of penalties loom over every nerve-jangling game, with

Argentina

next in the semi-finals.

England’s relationship with shootouts was, for a long time, a tortured one. They were knocked out of Italia ‘90 by West Germany via the heartbreak of penalties, and suffered defeats by

(1998) and Portugal (2006) in the same way.

The losing streak was finally lifted in 2018 when Gareth Southgate’s meticulous preparation paid off in England’s first-ever

shootout win,

against Colombia in the round of 16

England have since won two shootouts against Switzerland, in 2019 and 2024, either side of that

painful Euro 2020 final defeat against Italy.

Roughly a third of

knockout matches go to extra time, and around a quarter go to penalties. Thomas Tuchel has said he believes if

are to go all the way and lift the

in North America, they might need to win two penalty shootouts en route. It has not happened yet...

Tuchel vowed to pick up where Southgate’s regime left off

. “I have – on the highest level, since years and years – a penalty programme that is so easy (for me to) just wait for people to tell me who are the best shooters. We trained it. We have a process in place. So we are prepared.

“This has become such an important part, a very special part of football now, that you can prepare and do the best to be prepared, which we did. We have assistant coaches, we have background staff who just set one of the best programmes in place that I have witnessed. So we know exactly what is going to happen. And the platform is there.”

So who are England’s best penalty takers, and who will step up when the moment comes?

open image in gallery

Who will take England's penalties at the World Cup? (The Independent/Getty Images)

123 taken, 109 scored (89%)

England’s captain will take the first penalty. He has already scored 19 penalties this season for

Bayern Munich

and

, including his spot-kick against Croatia during the group stage after it was retaken.

Kane mixes two techniques, sometimes stuttering in his run-up and waiting for the goalkeeper to move first before placing it the opposite side, and sometimes running up and hitting the ball with power. The variation is an important tool to keep goalkeepers guessing.

Kane cleared the bar with his penalty against France

in the quarter-finals in Qatar four years ago as

were eliminated from the

. But, remarkably, he then went nearly three years without missing another.

And Kane has never missed in a shootout, in five attempts.

Kane scored at the second time of asking against Croatia (Getty)

62 taken, 58 scored (94%)

Both Toney and Tuchel have insisted the striker is not just in the

squad to take penalties, which is true, but it is fair to assume that if the

Al-Ahli

striker wasn’t such a master of the art from 12 yards, he would probably be on holiday right now.

Toney’s record is remarkable, justifying his former manager Thomas Frank’s claim that he is the best in the world from the spot. His ice-cool technique, staring down the goalkeeper before finishing without looking at the ball, is impressive to watch and few players have replicated it with such consistent success.

Toney came off the bench to score a penalty in the shootout against Switzerland at Euro 2024, when

scored all five in their most convincing display from the spot. He has not played a minute of football yet at this

, but if

are heading towards a shootout, Tuchel will call for Toney.

Ivan Toney's ability as a penalty-taker was cited as a reason for his inclusion (Getty)

16 taken, 14 scored (88%)

Saka was of the

trio to miss in the Euro 2020 final, along with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, for which they received appalling racist abuse. Saka was memorably applauded at away grounds at the start of the next Premier League season following the abuse he received in the wake of England’s shootout defeat.

He recovered well, scoring against Switzerland in the quarter-final shootout at Euro 2024. Saka only took two penalties for

Arsenal

this season but scored them both, and he has missed only once in the past three years.

Bukayo Saka scored in a shootout against Switzerland during Euro 2024 (Getty)

17 taken, 16 scored (94%)

If Rashford is off the field then Gordon will be on it, and he will be charged with taking a penalty should the moment come.

Gordon takes the responsibility for Newcastle and has a very good record, having scored 12 and missed only one since joining the club. He also scored a penalty in a

warm-up win over Costa Rica when Kane was off the pitch.

Anthony Gordon converted his penalty against Costa Rica last month (Getty)

The question with Gordon might be simply whether he is on the pitch. If he starts a knockout game which goes all the way to penalties, there is a chance Tuchel uses one of his six substitutions to replace Gordon with…

20 taken, 18 scored (90%)

Rashford was another of the trio to miss in the Euro 2020 final. Southgate later regretted bringing Rashford and Sancho on to the field so late in the game, with only seconds left at the end of extra time, giving them no time to get into the rhythm of the match and run off some adrenaline before the high-pressure shootout.

Rashford’s record is pretty impressive, albeit from a smaller sample size than some of his

teammates, and he has scored all of his past 14 penalties in a streak dating back to 2019. However, he has only taken one this season, for

against Serbia in qualifying.

Rashford scored against Serbia last September (Getty)

5 taken, 4 scored (80%)

Bellingham may not have much of a track record taking penalties – he hasn’t taken one for Real Madrid in 18 months, with Kylian Mbappe taking charge from the spot – but the 22-year-old has repeatedly shown he is the type of character to step up in England’s hour of need.

And Bellingham converted the second when

scored five perfect penalties against Switzerland two summers ago.

Declan Rice talked up England’s penalty prowess this month, and he name-checked Bellingham among the leading candidates to step forwards. “I look at this group now, I don’t think there’s a better crop of penalty-takers that

have probably ever had,” Rice said.

Jude Bellingham scored a penalty in the shootout against Switzerland in Euro 2024 (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

3 taken, 1 scored (33%)

Rice has very little experience from the spot, and what experience he does have was not particularly convincing, missing two of his three for West Ham.

But he scored emphatically during Arsenal’s shootout defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, and is clearly an excellent dead-ball striker, both at corners and free-kicks. He is also a leader on the pitch for

Declan Rice has said he will step up and take a penalty (Getty)

Eberechi Eze

is a likely candidate to come on as an impact substitute in a 120-minute match, so he may well be given responsibility from the spot, although he doesn’t have huge experience in that department. He missed one of his four penalties for Crystal Palace, and his only penalty for

, during the Champions League final shootout,

was missed

One player who probably shouldn’t step up is

Ollie

Watkins

. The striker has always been excellent for

, and his extra-time goal against Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-finals will live long in the memory of supporters. But Watkins’ penalty record reads 13 taken, six scored, seven missed, including misses in both of his most recent two for Aston Villa last year.

Other candidates include

Elliot

Anderson

Reece

James

who both scored their one and only career penalty and have track records of converting in shootouts.

And if the shootout runs deep into sudden death, at least

know they can rely on

Jordan

Pickford

, with his hands and his feet...

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