Who could take a penalty for England if World Cup quarter-final against Norway goes to a shootout?

Here we go again. England are into the knockout rounds of a World Cup 2026, and now the threat of penalties loom over every nerve-jangling game with Norway coming up in the quarter-finals.England’s relationship with shootouts was, for a long time, a tortured one.

They were knocked out of Italia ‘90 by West Germany via the heartbreak of penalties, and suffered defeats by Argentina (1998) and Portugal (2006) in the same way. The losing streak was finally lifted in 2018 when Gareth Southgate’s meticulous preparation paid off in England’s first-ever World Cup shootout win, against Colombia in the round of 16. England have since won two shootouts against Switzerland, in 2019 and 2024, either side of that painful Euro 2020 final defeat against Italy.

Roughly a third of World Cup knockout matches go to extra time, and around a quarter go to penalties. Thomas Tuchel has said he believes if England are to go all the way and lift the World Cup in North America, they will most likely need to win two penalty shootouts en route. Tuchel vowed to pick up where Southgate’s regime left off.

“I have – on the highest level, since years and years – a penalty programme that is so easy (for me to) just wait for people to tell me who are the best shooters. We trained it. We have a process in place.

So we are prepared.“This has become such an important part, a very special part of football now, that you can prepare and do the best to be prepared, which we did. We have assistant coaches, we have background staff who just set one of the best programmes in place that I have witnessed.

So we know exactly what is going to happen. And the platform is there.”So who are England’s best penalty takers, and who will step up when the moment comes?

open image in galleryWho will take England's penalties at the World Cup? (The Independent/Getty Images)Harry Kane123 taken, 109 scored (89%)England’s captain will take the first penalty. He has already scored 19 penalties this season for Bayern Munich and England, including his spot-kick against Croatia during the group stage after it was retaken.

Kane mixes two techniques, sometimes stuttering in his run-up and waiting for the goalkeeper to move first before placing it the opposite side, and sometimes running up and hitting the ball with power. The variation is an important tool to keep goalkeepers guessing.Kane cleared the bar with his penalty against France in the quarter-finals in Qatar four years ago as England were eliminated from the World Cup.

But, remarkably, he then went nearly three years without missing another.And Kane has never missed in a shootout, in five attempts. open image in galleryKane scored at the second time of asking against Croatia (Getty)Ivan Toney62 taken, 58 scored (94%)Both Toney and Tuchel have insisted the striker is not just in the England squad to take penalties, which is true, but it is fair to assume that if the Al-Ahli striker wasn’t such a master of the art from 12 yards, he would probably be on holiday right now.

Toney’s record is remarkable, justifying his former manager Thomas Frank’s claim that he is the best in the world. His ice-cool technique, staring down the goalkeeper before scoring without looking at the ball, is incredibly impressive and few players have replicated it with such success. Toney came off the bench to score a penalty in the shootout against Switzerland at Euro 2024, when England scored all five in their most impressive display from the spot.

He has not played a minute of football yet at this World Cup, but if England are heading towards a shootout, Tuchel will call for Toney.open image in galleryIvan Toney's ability as a penalty-taker was cited as a reason for his inclusion (Getty)Bukayo Saka16 taken, 14 scored (88%)Saka was memorably applauded at away grounds at the start of the 2021/22 Premier League season, following the abuse he received in the wake of England’s shootout defeat. He recovered well, scoring against Switzerland in the quarter-final shootout at Euro 2024.

Saka only took two penalties for Arsenal this season but scored them both, and he has missed only once in the past three years. open image in galleryBukayo Saka scored in a shootout against Switzerland during Euro 2024 (Getty)Marcus Rashford20 taken, 18 scored (90%)Rashford was one of the England trio to miss in the Euro 2020 final, along with Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho, for which they received appalling racist abuse. Southgate later regretted bringing Rashford and Sancho on to the field so late in the game, with only seconds left at the end of extra time, giving them no time to get into the rhythm of the match and run off some adrenaline before the high-pressure shootout.

Rashford’s record is pretty impressive, albeit from a smaller sample size than some of his England teammates, and he has scored all of his last 14 penalties in a streak dating back to 2019. However, he has only taken one this season, for England against Serbia in qualifying.open image in galleryRashfor