Who England's penalty takers should be if Germany showdown goes all the way

England’s penalty shootout record makes for grim reading, with one of their defeats particularly haunting for current boss Gareth Southgate.

At Euro 96, 25 years ago, an inexperienced Southgate saw his spot-kick saved in the semi-final as Germany wrapped up a 6-5 win on penalties, before beating Czech Republic in the final at Wembley.

That harrowing shootout loss was one of six for the Three Lions in major tournaments, with their only two victories coming in the quarter-final against Spain earlier at Euro 96, and the last 16 win over Colombia at the 2018 World Cup.

Southgate now has a chance to seek personal revenge against the Germans when his England side go up against them in the Round of 16 at Euro 2020.

If the game goes all the way at Wembley on Tuesday, England should be in a more confident mood given that they are yet to lose a shootout under Southgate.

As well as their victory over Colombia in 2018, the Three Lions also beat Switzerland in the Nations League finals in 2019.

Taking a spot-kick at Wembley in an international knockout game in front of your adoring fans would seem an unenviable task to most, and Southgate will know more than anyone that his first five picks would need to be spot on.

Harry Kane

The most uncontentious choice of the five is England’s captain Harry Kane, who boasts a stellar record from the penalty spot.

As his club and country’s designated spot-kick taker, not including shootouts, Kane has taken 51 penalties across his career, scoring 44 and missing just seven, giving him an 86 per cent success rate.

Kane has scored 11 penalties for England, and he also netted the first spot-kick in the shootout victory over Colombia in 2018.

Despite him struggling for form so far at the tournament, Kane would be a shoo-in to score from the spot if the opportunity arose.

Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford is yet to start a game for the Three Lions at Euro 2020, but as he has proven many times, he is a big-game player.

He is also prolific from the penalty spot having missed just two of his 17 career penalties for United and England. While on Three Lions duty, Rashford has netted four times from 12 yards.

In terms of England shootouts, the 23-year-old converted his penalty against Colombia at the World Cup, and if he is on the pitch at the time, will no doubt be chosen to step up and take a spot-kick.

Kieran Trippier

Atletico Madrid right-back Kieran Trippier has a more patchy record from the penalty spot having missed twice at club level.

But the dead ball specialist, who was a heroic figure for England at the 2018 World Cup, will fancy himself from 12 yards.

Trippier crucially has the experience of already scoring a penalty for England at a major tournament, as he also stepped up to find the back of the net against Colombia in 2018.

Mason Mount

Mason Mount has become an influential figure for club and country over recent seasons and is seen as dependable, with plenty of mental fortitude. Those are the sort of attributes needed for someone stepping up to take a crunch spot-kick.

Mount has scored a penalty for Chelsea in the Premier League, but missed the decisive shootout kick when the Blues were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Tottenham last season.

The 22-year-old would’ve learnt from the experience and could be called upon if he can make Tuesday’s clash following his 10-day isolation.

He was deemed to be a close contact of Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for Covid-19 following Scotland’s draw with England in the Euro 2020 group stages.

Mount missed England’s final group game against Czech Republic but is in contention to play against the Germans.

Jadon Sancho

Jadon Sancho has seen his game time severely limited at Euro 2020 so far, with just one substitute appearance to his name so far.

Sancho will have more in-depth knowledge on Tuesday’s opponents though having played against the majority of the squad while at Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.

The 21-year-old is also deadly from 12 yards, scoring 10 from his 11 career spot-kicks at both senior and youth level, with three of those goals coming for Dortmund in the 2020/21 campaign.

He has also netted for England in a shootout – against Switzerland in 2019.

Next up on the list if the shootout goes the distance could be, somewhat surprisingly, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

The Everton stopper also scored against the Swiss in the Nations League, and Three Lions midfielder Kalvin Phillips has been talking up his ability from 12 yards.

‘He’s a very clean striker of the ball,’ Phillips said.

‘It makes it a lot easier when you have a keeper who could probably score a free-kick as well as a penalty.’

If he comes on as a substitute, Dominic Calvert-Lewin would be a good shout to take a penalty.

The striker has never missed one in his career, scoring three times for England across senior and youth levels.

In terms of who probably shouldn’t be chosen to step up based on their prior records, there are two standout players: Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson.

Sterling has missed more than he has scored for Manchester City, with three failed efforts to just one goal.

The winger wasn’t chosen to take one at the World Cup but did net in the Nations League shootout against Switzerland and vs Iceland in 2020.

Meanwhile, Liverpool captain Henderson was the only England player to miss against Colombia in 2018 and he also saw his spot-kick saved in a warm-up game against Romania prior to Euro 2020.

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