England's best penalty takers revealed
England will be hoping to avoid penalties (Picture: Getty)
England return to action at Euro 2024 with a round of 16 clash against Slovakia this evening.
The Three Lions have endured a hugely underwhelming campaign to date but will start the game as favourites.
However, it would surprise no one if England once again fail to click into gear in front of goal, and if that is indeed the case against the Slovaks, then the game could go all the way to extra-time or even dreaded penalties.
It’s fair to say England don’t have the best record in penalty shootouts, having tasted defeat from 12 yards seven times of out of ten in their major tournament history.
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On paper at least, it would seem like the current crop of England stars are well-stocked with penalty prowess, with the squad containing the likes of Harry Kane, Cole Palmer and Ivan Toney.
But how do their numbers, as well as England’s other main candidates likely to step up to take one for their country, actually stack up in reality? Let’s crunch the numbers and take a look at the penalty record of certain members of Gareth Southgate’s side at U18 level and above.
Minimum of five penalties and data courtesy of www.topoffshoresportsbooks.com.
1. Cole Palmer (15/15, 100% success rate)
Palmer is yet to miss a single penalty in his career and scored all nine attempts in the Premier League last season.
Palmer got off the mark for England in the Euro 2024 warm-up win over Bosnia at the start of June.
Cole Palmer is faultless from 12 yards (Picture: Getty)
2. Trent Alexander-Arnold (7/7, 100% success rate)
Alexander-Arnold is another member of the 100% club with a perfect seven from seven.
The Liverpool man has never taken one at senior level in normal time or extra-time but was 4/4 for England’s U19s and has scored for the Reds in shootouts in the FA Cup, League Cup and European Super Cup.
3. Conor Gallagher (6/6, 100% success rate)
Five of these have come for Chelsea’s U18s.
Gallagher’s one senior penalty was in the League Cup while on loan at West Brom to protect his perfect record.
4. Ivan Toney (37/40, 93% success rate)
Toney netted against Belgium in the March international break to nudge his tally to 37.
Toney has taken part in more shootouts than anyone in the England squad, with an impressive seven successes from eight attempts.
Toney is an excellent option to have from the bench if England go to penalties (Picture: Getty)
5. Eberechi Eze (8/9, 89% success rate)
Eze missed his first ever penalty for QPR in 2019 but has scored 8/8 ever since.
These include two successful attempts in the Premier League, one for England’s U21s and another in the League Cup.
6. Harry Kane (79/90, 88% success rate)
Kane has scored twice as many penalties in his career than any other member of the England squad.
Since his agonising miss in the World Cup 2022 quarter-final defeat to France, Kane has been faultless, finding the back of the net 15 times in a row and boasts a perfect 5/5 record in shootouts in his career.
7. Bukayo Saka (16/19, 84% success rate)
Saka infamously missed the decisive kick against Italy in the Euro 2020 final but has since established himself as Arsenal’s first-choice taker.
The Gunners fan favourite has scored all but one of his 13 attempts since that fateful night at Wembley, including 3/3 in shootouts.
Saka has put his Euro 2020 miss behind him (Picture: Getty)
8. Anthony Gordon (8/10, 80% success rate)
Having the likes of Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson as teammates means Gordon has only taken one senior penalty in normal time, which he duly scored.
Gordon, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool this summer, is 2/2 in domestic shoot-outs and 8/10 overall.
9. Jarrod Bowen (7/10, 70% success rate)
Bowen has a slightly patchy record of 6/9 at club level and hasn’t taken once since missing for the Hammers against Liverpool in October 2022.
The flying forward did score in his one and only shoot-out against Manchester City in the League Cup, however.
10. Ollie Watkins (6/11, 55% success rate)
Watkins has scored only 4 of his 9 efforts mid-game and hasn’t been entrusted with one since missing in May 2023.
He is at least 2/2 in shootouts, including one in the Europa Conference League this season.
11. Kieran Trippier (3/6, 50% success rate)
Trippier converted the crucial fourth against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup to help England record their first win on penalties in over 20 years.
His record beyond that is average, however, missing 2/2 in normal time and in a League Cup shootout defeat against Chelsea last season, with Trippier seemingly more successful from free kicks.