Which England stars would you trust to take a World Cup penalty?
Published:After would-be World Cup inclusions Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones went some way to blacklisting themselves from any potential England shoot-out duties in Brazil, we compiled a list of the five most trusted names who could step up on Three Lions’ duty.
Manchester United’s calamitous Capital One Cup semi-final shoot-out against Sunderland exposed the well-trodden theory that English players in particular, freeze spectacularly when it comes to the ultimate 12-yard challenge.
With Roy Hodgson’s side priced up at 6/1 to exit this summer’s competition via their tournament Achilles heel once more – do you agree with our top five Three Lions picks to hold their nerve?
Frank Lampard
Lampoon Lampard all you like in an England shirt, but Chelsea’s all-time leading goal scorer has stuck away a huge proportion of penalties for both club and country over the years. Lamps has smashed 41 Premier League penalties alone for the Blues, with only Alan Shearer ahead of him in the overall stakes.
Wayne Rooney
Wazza may have flirted with being Manchester United’s number one penalty taker over the seasons, but he’s had some pretty stiff competition to be fair, not least Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie. As England’s only world class striker, he has to take one.
Rickie Lambert
Providing he’s on the plane, Southampton’s main striker should be brought on specifically to take part in a shoot-out. Incredibly, the former Bristol Rovers man has notched all 34 of his penalties for the Saints to date.
Steven Gerrard
Much like Lampard at Chelsea, Liverpool’s talisman has scored the vast majority of penalties for his club and can normally be trusted in high pressure situations. Gerrard has only missed three of his last 13 for the Reds. Keep the cushion handy though.
Leighton Baines
There are not many defenders who are so adept at hitting a penalty or free-kick as truly and accurately as Everton’s left-back. Baines set a new Premier League penalty conversion rate on New Year ’s Day 2014, hitting his 11th out of 11 against Stoke.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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