Football News: England Aiming for Euro 2024 Glory Amid Penalty Shootout Concerns

As the anticipation builds for Euro 2024, England emerge as one of the favorites to clinch the coveted trophy. However, the Three Lions’ historic woes from the penalty spot remain a cause for concern.

Southgate’s Penalty Pursuit

Under the guidance of manager Gareth Southgate, England’s spot-kick fortunes have shown signs of improvement, but failures from 12 yards have defined their past two tournament exits. The heartbreaking shootout defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, followed by the late Harry Kane penalty miss that led to their World Cup quarter-final exit against France in Qatar, have left a lingering shadow over the team’s penalty record.

England’s men’s national team has a well-documented miserable record from the spot, with only three wins from ten shootouts in major tournaments. Two of those victories have come under Southgate, who can rely on several accomplished takers in Germany this summer should they be needed.

Key Penalty Takers in the Squad

Notably, the squad will be without one of their most seasoned penalty takers, Harry Maguire, who had featured in nine shootouts and scored two of the spot-kicks he had taken for his country. The Three Lions captain suffered one of the lowest moments of his career from the penalty spot with that miss against France.

However, Kane is usually deadly from 12 yards, and in fact, hasn’t failed to convert a penalty for club or country since his World Cup miss. The striker dispatched two penalties against Italy in Euro qualifying and even notched against both Manchester United and Arsenal in Bayern Munich‘s run to the Champions League semi-finals.

Bukayo Saka, who had the hardship of missing the deciding penalty in England’s Euro final defeat to Italy, will be hoping for spot-kick redemption in Germany after becoming one of Europe’s best takers in recent years. The Arsenal attacker has converted 10 of the 11 penalties he’s taken at club level since April 2022.

Elsewhere in the squad, Kieran Trippier, Jordan Pickford, Ivan Toney, Conor Gallagher, and Eberechi Eze have all demonstrated their penalty-taking prowess, offering Southgate a variety of options should shootouts come into play.

As England prepare to embark on their Euro 2024 campaign, the team’s penalty record will undoubtedly be a key talking point. With several accomplished takers in the squad, the Three Lions will be hoping to finally put their shootout demons to rest and lift the trophy in Germany.

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