Who Will Take Penalties For England at the 2026 World Cup?

There is one thing in football that England fans fear more than any other – the dreaded penalty shoot-out. Their record in them has been lacklustre, to say the least, having won four and lost seven across major international competitions.

Now that they’re into the knockout rounds, where they will first take on DR Congo, the possibility of a penalty shoot-out is abundant. But who will take penalties for the Three Lions if their fears come to fruitition?

We’ve put together a list of five possible spot-kick takers for England at the 2026 World Cup. Who would you want to take up such a responsibility?

For reference, all stats from this list will be taken from Transfermarkt, who do not include scored and missed penalties within shoot-outs in their data.

Bukayo Saka

Yes, we all know what happened in 2021, when Bukayo Saka missed the final penalty in the shoot-out against Italy in Euro 2020 – however, the Arsenal man is far too robust of a character to let this dissuade him. Since then, his penalty record has been excellent.

Outside of shoot-outs, Saka has missed just three penalties in his career, scoring 16. Of course, the high-profile miss in 2021 will always hang over him like a ghastly shadow, but do not let this fool you – he is one of the Three Lions’ best spot-kick takers.

Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford was also amongst the unfortunate trio who missed one of England’s penalties in the Euro 2020 final. Nevertheless, his spot-kick record is even better than Saka’s, having scored 21 and missed just two.

Rashford hasn’t missed a penalty in normal time since 2019 – this statistic alone should qualify him as one of the Three Lions’ top penalty takers.

Elliot Anderson

A surprising pick perhaps, but when his penalty record is examined, Elliot Anderson looks like a particularly solid spot-kick taker. The soon-to-be Manchester City man has only taken one penalty at senior level, but was prolific at youth level, scoring six and missing just one.

He has been one of England’s better players at the 2026 World Cup, always looking to receive the ball and drive forward. There may be questions surrounding his age, being just 23 years of age, but he has shown an impressive level of maturity so far.

Anthony Gordon

Anthony Gordon has been off the boil for England at the World Cup so far, but one cannot deny how truly excellent he is from the spot.

He has taken 21 penalties in his professional career, scoring 18 of them and missing only three. Don’t let his poor performances fool you – he is lethal from 12 yards.

Harry Kane

Of course, England captain Harry Kane will almost definitely take a penalty for England in the World Cup if they are ever forced into a shoot-out scenario. In fact, we’d be very surprised if he wasn’t the first taker.

With 14 misses, he has failed to find the back of the net from penalties more than anyone else in the squad, but it is important to remember that he has scored a whopping 108 of them.

Honourable Mention: Ivan Toney

We must also bring mention to Ivan Toney, who is perhaps the best penalty taker in the squad. He may not take one, as it would require having both him and Kane on the pitch to do so, but his record from the spot cannot be denied.

Thomas Tuchel may even consider replacing Kane with him late on for him to take a penalty if a shoot-out looms. With 58 successful penalties to his name and only four misses over the course of his entire career, little more needs to be said.