On the 30th of April, 2024, Bayern Munich played Real Madrid in the Champions League. On the face of it, this shouldn’t have all that much to do with England’s record on penalties. However, during that game we witnessed the mildly amusing sight of one England star trying to distract another as they took a penalty.
Jude Bellingham did his best to get inside Harry Kane’s head but the former Spurs man kept his cool and dispatched the penalty for Bayern. In just a few months there is a chance that the same two players will be trying to score for the same side, England, from spotkicks at the same stadium. Euro 2024 is drawing ever closer and Kane and Bellingham are two of England’s world-class players that the nation is hoping can guide them to glory.
Of course, England never do things the easy way. Truth be told, they’ve only ever “done” something once, when they won the World Cup in 1966. Back then they didn’t have to rely on penalties but if they are to go all the way in Germany in 2024 we suspect they probably will. So, how does England’s record on penalties look and is it really as bad as we suspect the average England fan thinks?
England’s Record on Penalties in Major Tournaments
For the purpose of this article, we are looking at how the men’s England team has done in penalty shootouts at the Euros (ahead of Euro 2024) and the World Cup. As such, we are not considering other minor tournaments, youth or women’s teams, or penalties in general play. So, just how bad is it?
Well, the answer is pretty bad… but it’s possibly getting better. In total, the Three Lions have had to endure the tension of a shootout four times in World Cups, winning just once. In addition, they have faced penalties a further five times at the Euros, where they also have just one win to their name. In other words, they have won two and lost seven, out of nine.
They did also have a shootout in the Nations League in 2019 and they won that, against Switzerland. However, as said, we are only including the European Championship and World Cup in this article. Sadly that rare win in the meaningless third-place play-off clash is not something we can use to make England’s record look any better.
If penalties truly were a lottery, as commentators often like to proclaim, England could have expected to have won 50%. Instead, they have tasted victory just 22% of the time. Below is a summary of the games the Three Lions have been involved in that ended up being settled from just 12 yards.
1990 World Cup
England’s first taste of spotkick agony came at Italia ‘90, when the old enemy Germany saw them off in the semis. It was a strong England side, featuring Gary Lineker, Stuart Pearce, David Platt, Des Walker and Gazza but the Germans proved too good. The game was 1-1 after extra time and Bobby Robson’s men were arguably the better side but they lost 4-3 on penalties, the Germans faultless as Pearce and Chris Waddle missed their kicks.
Euro 1996 – a Rare Win
Redemption would come for Pearce, as it has for Southgate, although Pearce’s famous celebration when he scored his penalty against Spain at Euro ‘96 was rather more “psycho”, befitting his nickname, than anything the mild-mannered Gareth Southgate would produce. The Three Lions won 4-2 in the quarters, Alan Shearer, Platt, Pearce and Gazza scoring as England scored all their pens.
Euro 1996 – a Not-so-Rare Defeat
England’s joy was short-lived as they faced familiar opponents in the semis. They had chances to win it against Germany but were inches away at times, most famously when Gazza slid in but couldn’t quite connect. The first 12 penalties were scored but this meant that both sides were into players who perhaps didn’t want to take a kick. Up stepped a certain Southgate but his tame effort was easily saved.
1998 World Cup
Argentina had controversially beaten England in the 1986 World Cup with Diego Maradona’s famous Hand of God goal. This game was huge for both sides with the Falklands conflict still fresh in the memory for some. It was a true classic too, with a wonder goal from Michael Owen, a red card for David Beckham and then penalties after the game finished 2-2. Paul Ince saw his penalty saved and then, at 6-5 down, so did David Batty.
Euro 2004
England were looking so good at this tournament as a young Wayne Rooney made all the headlines. However, he got injured early in the quarter final against hosts Portugal and the clash went to penalties after ending 1-1 after 90 minutes and 2-2 after extra time. Beckham missed England’s opening kick and although they got back in it, Portugal won 8-7 in the end.
Portugal Again at the 2006 World Cup
By now Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were approaching the peak of their powers and, despite being Man United teammates, CR7 seemed to get Rooney sent off. The game was a dour affair and from England’s point of view, the shootout was no better. Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher all saw their penalties saved and England lost 3-1, Ronaldo bagging the crucial kick.
Euro 2012
England lost to Italy in the quarters of the European Championship, going down 4-2 on penalties, again, proving dismal from 12 yards. It was a double disaster for the team’s Ashleys, as first Young and then Cole failed from the spot after the game was 0-0.
2018: England Net First World Cup Shootout Win
England may have had an easy draw and a bit of good luck along the way but it seemed like a huge moment, under Southgate, when they managed to see off Colombia 5-4 on penalties. The game was 1-1 after extra time, Kane scoring a penalty that Yerry Mina cancelled out. England went down in the shootout when Jordan Henderson missed but then another Jordan, Pickford, got the Three Lions out of trouble.
Euro 2020: Italy Again, Defeat Again
This tournament was delayed by a year and seemed like a great chance for England to win given they were almost the home team in a tournament that saw games spread around the continent. Alas, at the final hurdle, it wasn’t to be. The Three Lions took a very early lead in the match but then went into their shells, allowing Italy back into the Wembley final. It finished 1-1 after extra time and despite Pickford saving two more spot-kicks, misses from Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka condemned England to defeat.
Are England Getting Better?
It may be too early to tell really but if we look at the Three Lions’ record under Gareth Southgate, there may be cause for optimism. The former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough man, who knows a thing or two about shootouts, guided England to their first win ever from penalties at the World Cup and under him their record at the big ones is played two, won one, lost one.
However, we want to end on an optimistic note and so for that reason let us include the Nations League win over Switzerland whilst Southgate was boss. That means that England’s win rate stands at a very solid, almost Germanic 67% under the calm and experienced manager. Of course, we could just hope that Kane and co simply blow everyone away in 90 minutes at Euro 2024 to save us all a lot of stress!
