Who are England's best penalty-takers? Every member of Thomas Tuchel's 2026 World Cup squad ranked ahead of potential shootout drama

Described as the best penalty-taker in the world by his former Brentford boss Thomas Frank, a belief the Dane has reiterated while on punditry during the course of this World Cup, Ivan Toney doesn’t have a faultless record from 12 yards - but he has a pretty good one.

The striker has scored 57 of the 61 spot-kicks he has taken in his professional career, plus seven of the nine he has taken in shootouts. Of those two misses, one was his first and the other was his most recent, which came in a game that had already seen him take a penalty in normal time, thus making his second one that much trickier. If available, Toney will be one of the first to be chosen in a shootout, and with good reason.

Anthony Gordon and Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, have both only ever missed one penalty each in their senior careers, and neither have missed in a shootout. Gordon’s record is brilliant, at a combined 17 out of 18 for normal spot-kicks and shootouts. Bellingham’s is a smaller sample size, at seven out of eight, but he was among those to score in the win over Switzerland on penalties at Euro 2024, too, so knows full-well how to handle the pressure that will come should he have to step up in these knockout stages.

It feels somewhat egregious not to have put Harry Kane in the top tier, but the England captain does have some recent hiccups from the spot. In the Three Lions’ win over Croatia to begin this tournament, he needed a retake to give his side the lead, while his miss in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat to France will still occupy the nightmares of some. However, Kane’s record generally is outstanding, with a perfect conversion rate from five attempts in shootouts and 106 of his other 120 penalties scored.

Other England stars with excellent overall records but some high-profile misses include Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, who both failed to convert from the spot as Italy won the Euro 2020 final on penalties. Still, those are the only shootout misses the pair have ever had, with Saka scoring all five of his since. The Arsenal man has netted 14 of his 16 professional penalties outside of shootouts, with Rashford scoring 18 out of 20.

There are then a couple of less regular penalty takers in this England squad who have excellent history from 12 yards. Reece James and Elliot Anderson have both only ever been chosen to take an isolated spot-kick once in their careers, but they both scored and both have 100 per cent conversion rates in shootouts, having stepped up in four each. Expect them to be near the front of the queue if available, and expect them to score.

Eberechi Eze’s miss in Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in June may leave some England fans hoping he isn’t selected to take a spot-kick, if needed, at this World Cup, but the 27-year-old has reiterated his belief in his technique in the time since and he has reason to be confident. That was Eze’s first shootout miss in a general record of nine scored from 12 taken. It’d be a surprise to see him fail to convert again.

Declan Rice was one of the Arsenal players to convert in that heart-breaking loss, representing the continuation of a very positive trend in his ability from the spot. Rice only scored one of his three penalties at West Ham, despite being a designated taker from time to time. He’s not been that with the Gunners, but he has stepped up in four shootouts for the club, and scored every time.

Noni Madueke has never taken a spot-kick in a shootout, so to do that in this World Cup would be a very new experience for him, but he has a strong record of three penalties scored from four attempts, even if it is a small sample size. Similar goes for Kobbie Mainoo, whose only competitive history comes from three shootouts: Two for Manchester United’s Under-21s in the EFL Trophy and the infamous League Cup defeat to Grimsby Town for the Red Devils' senior side. Mainoo scored all three and also netted another in pre-season last year, against Fiorentina. He, then, clearly knows what he’s doing from 12 yards.

When looking at potential penalty takers in this England squad, one might pause at Morgan Rogers’ name. A talented goal-scorer who has delivered in big moments, he might be the sort of name one would expect near the front of the queue. But he actually does not have much history from the spot.

Rogers did net for his country in a friendly against Austria two years ago, but he missed his most recent attempt from 12 yards, against Bologna in the Europa League last season, and has never stepped up in a shootout. What might it look like if he is called upon in this World Cup? It’s hard to predict.

Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson, despite his experience and stand-out qualities as a leader, does not have a great record when it comes to penalties. He was one of those subbed off by Sir Gareth Southgate ahead of the infamous shootout in the Euro 2020 final, having missed in the 2018 World Cup against Colombia before failing to convert in a warm-up friendly for the subsequent Euros against Romania. Henderson did net his most recent attempt from the spot, in Ajax’s Europa League win over Panathinaikos at the start of the 2024-25 season, but his overall record sits at a rather sketchy two scored from five taken.

On the other end of the spectrum is Jordan Pickford. Usually tasked with stopping penalties rather than scoring them, England’s No.1 has only taken one spot-kick in his senior career, but it was a beauty, in the Nations League shootout win over Switzerland in 2019. With limited experience as a taker, he’s unlikely to be near the top of the list and remains unpredictable. But his conviction seven years ago will stick in the minds of many - including Pickford himself.

We’re now into the territory of players who have taken very few penalties throughout their careers and, thus, are likely to cast doubt in the minds of most if they have to step up. Ezri Konsa, Nico O’Reilly and John Stones have all only ever taken one professional spot-kick each, and all of them were a while ago. That said, they did all score, with Stones also pulling out a Panenka in a pre-season win over Juventus during his Everton days.

Trevoh Chalobah, a late addition to this England squad after injury to Tino Livaramento, has taken two penalties in his career. He missed the first, while on loan at Ipswich Town way back in 2018, then scored the most recent, as Chelsea lost 11-10 to Liverpool in the 2022 Carabao Cup final. Marc Guehi, meanwhile, has never taken a penalty in his professional career, though he did score one in Chelsea's run to the UEFA Youth League final in 2019.

Given all five are defenders, it's no surprise that they lack extensive penalty-taking histories, but all have at least shown some semblance of quality from 12 yards. If they are called upon in these knockout stages, it'll be all about how they handle the pressure of the moment, which isn't easy.

There are then five names in this England squad who have seemingly never taken a penalty in their professional careers. Least surprising among them are the other two goalkeepers at Tuchel’s disposal: Dean Henderson and James Trafford. The latter appears to have never even been involved in a shootout in his senior days to date.

Djed Spence, Jarell Quansah and Dan Burn complete the quintet, meaning they will likely be right down the pecking order if indeed it comes to penalties over the course of England’s tournament and, if called upon, will be required to step up and deliver in the sort of pressure moment they have yet to really experience.