Past experience, particularly against Germany, tells Gareth Southgate and his coaching squad have to be ready for the chance of facing a shootout at another major international competition.
England are ready for more penalty drama
England are set for a clash against Germany at Euro 2020. Kalvin Phillips admits the team are ready for more penalty drama, having started their preparations with a discussion about spot-kicks. Past experience, particularly against Germany, tells Gareth Southgate and his coaching squad have to be ready for the chance of facing a shootout at another major international competition. England’s record from 11 metres is not the best, but they did edge Colombia out on their way to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and worked hard to guarantee that they are prepared for whatever the European Championship throws at them.
Having been matched with Germany in the last-16, Leeds player Phillips told reporters about the prospect of spot-kicks – with England, having suffered penalty heartache against arch-rivals at the 1990 FIFA World Cup and Euro 1996: “It was the first match we had when we got to Middlesbrough.”
Southgate showed clips of him taking penalties
“Gareth showed us what he wanted us to do at the camp and how we wanted to progress at the competition. He showed clips of him taking penalties and other teams before that and us at the World Cup. Southgate mentioned that, more or less, every squad that’s won it have had to go through a stage in the tournament where they have had to go to penalties. Visibly, he jokes about it now, but he’s a coach who prides himself on taking penalty shootout. He knows it is massive in some tournaments and especially in this one. He talked about it quite a lot, and it’s nice to hear the experiences he went through. Confidently, if we do go to penalties, we go one better.”
Gareth missed a crucial penalty at Wembley in 1996 and will be keen to ensure that none of his current team go through similar misery 25 years on. He has a lot of talent at his disposal, with some players in the ranks of England who would fancy their possibilities from the spot. Aston Villa player Jack Grealish would fit into that category, and Phillips loving working alongside one of the Premier League’s finest creative influences.