England wouldn’t be England if they didn’t endure some form of penalty heartache when exiting a major international tournament, and that was indeed the case as the Three Lions lost to France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals.
While Gareth Southgate’s side had the better of the game for the majority, they were left to rue a late missed spot-kick from Harry Kane as they fell to a 2-1 defeat. The England captain had already equalised from 12 yards early in the second half, but skied his effort over the crossbar when facing off against Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Hugo Lloris for a second time on the night.
At least it was different from the traditional penalty shootout exit, though that will be no consolation to the England captain - who is normally so reliable from the spot. As a result, he doesn’t join an ever-growing list of shootout villains dating back to Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle at Italia ‘90, and then Southgate himself at Euro ‘96. We’ve come a long way from the Pizza Hut boys!
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From the 10 penalty shootouts England have competed in at international tournaments, they have lost seven with 16 players writing their name onto that most unwanted list. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka were the most recent sufferers, all failing to score as the Three Lions lost to Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
Out of that 16, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is the only player to miss a shootout penalty for England, having seen his effort saved by David Ospina at the 2018 World Cup, yet still end up on the winning side. His blushes were spared as a result, but such a record would see him withdrawn in the last minute of extra-time in the Euro 2020 final as Rashford and Sancho were controversially sent on specifically to take penalties.
Henderson is not the only Red to miss for his country from 12 yards in such circumstances though. Paul Ince would be denied by Carlos Roa when England lost on penalties to Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, while Ricardo would save from both Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, as well as current Everton manager Frank Lampard, when the Three Lions lost to Portugal at the 2006 World Cup.
And Carragher’s own spot-kick was doused with a sprinkling of controversy as he actually scored at the first time of asking, only for referee Horacio Marcelo Elizondoto make him re-take it as he hadn’t yet blown his whistle.
This did not go down well with England assistant manager Tord Grip, who would blame the Liverpool legend for the Three Lions’ exit as a result. His words, offered to an outlet not welcome on Merseyside, will not be repeated here. But it wasn’t just the source in question that would prompt anger from Carragher.
“Everyone looked for a scapegoat. (Sven-Goran) Eriksson took the blame, but for a while the investigation even focused on me,” he recalled in his 2008 autobiography. “Eriksson's assistant Tord Grip highlighted my penalty miss as a chief factor in our demise.
“When asked why I was one of those involved in the shootout against the Portuguese, he explained, ‘He took one really well for Liverpool in the Champions League final.’
“I've watched our penalty shootout win in Istanbul a thousand times since 2005. I’ve relieved the magical moment of victory more times than this. To this day I still can't recall taking a penalty, and neither can the millions of others around the world who watched the game.
“I’m not imagining it, then. I definitely didn’t take a penalty in the Champions League final in 2005. The only people who seem to think I was one of Liverpool’s takers that night are Grip and the journalist who wrote the story. It's frightening to think England's assistant manager could be so ill-informed.
“Having said that, I’d fancied my chances against Portugal that night and readily agreed when asked to take one because my record in training was superb.
“I was screwed, because I buried my first attempt only to be ordered to retake it for shooting too early. I should have blasted the second, but I picked my spot and missed.”
For the record, Carragher would have a 100% record from the spot for Liverpool, having stepped up in two penalty shootouts. While he might not have taken one in Istanbul, he did score to help the Reds get their hands on silverware in 2001, converting their sixth spot-kick in the League Cup final against Birmingham City before Sander Westerveld saved from Andy Johnson to seal the win.
Meanwhile, he’d be on the scoresheet again in a shootout in the same competition two years later as Liverpool again won the trophy. This time it was in the earlier rounds though, netting the Reds’ fourth effort against Ipswich Town in the fourth round before El Hadji Diouf scored the winner. One assumes Tord Grip wasn’t watching.
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