England’s penalty struggles are no secret, haunting fans and players alike with memories of past tournament heartbreaks. However, under Gareth Southgate’s leadership, significant efforts have been made to improve their record.
One notable change is the introduction of a strict penalty rule in training sessions. This approach aims to instil confidence and consistency in spot-kicks, as seen in their victories over Colombia and Switzerland in recent tournaments.
Despite falling short in the Euro 2020 final against Italy, Southgate’s tenure has undeniably boosted England's penalty-taking prowess. Gary Neville shed light on England's strategy during a discussion on Stick to Football.
Neville said: "When I interviewed Anthony Gordon, he told me what Gareth [Southgate] does [to decide who will take penalties]."
"He pulls three players at the end of practice, takes them to a quiet area, they have a penalty, and they take three each. They have to pick a side, decide where it’s going to go, and that’s what they do."
"What we did – when we worked out we had to practice them - we’d have 10 players in one half, and 10 in the other, and we all took them."
"What Sven-Göran Eriksson and Steve McLaren did was whoever had the most penalty successes would be chosen as taking penalties for the game. That’s why Jamie Carragher was brought on – he didn’t miss one."
"We went through a phase of not [practising penalties], then we went through a phase of some did, some didn’t, and then we went through a phase of everyone doing it as if it’s a competition."
"It was interesting seeing how Gareth did it because he has had some success with it. Just taking three players in a concentrated way, making them focus and do it properly."
