From Gareth Southgate to Harry Kane : Here are the top 5 Penalty heartbreaks for England

England might have to wait for another 4 years to taste World cup glory for the first time since 1966 after Harry Kane missed his Penalty to equalize against France at the quarter-finals. Or maybe another 2 years to land a major trophy when the 2024 Euros come around. Anyhow, England’s penalty shootout curse lives on for now.

That miss meant that the 1966 World champions suffered their 7th exit from the Quarter final stage of the WC. While this was not for the first time that the English side missed out from winning a major trophy because of a penalty, this lineage was first started by current English manager Gareth Southgate.

So here is the list of regulation time or penalty shootout incidents that kept the Three Lions away from winning the World cup or Euros.

1. Gareth Southgate’s missed penalty against Germany at 1996 edition of Euros – England were hosting the 1996 Euros and they had a great opportunity of winning the European silverware at home soil. After beating Spain on penalties at the quarter-finals, England met Germany in the Semi-final. Former English legend Alan Shearer scored the first goal for the hosts before Germany’s Stefan Kuntz’ equalizer. The match remained on level terms at extra time and the match was to be decided on penalties. Both the teams were able to score their first five spot kicks and it was time for sudden death. Current England manager, Gareth Southgate was the first to take the sudden death kick and he missed due to a poor effort to test opposing goalkeeper Andreas Kopke. Germany’s Andreas Moller scored the following Penalty to knock the Three Lions out of the 1996 Euros at their home soil.

2. Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle’s missed penalties at 1990 World Cup Semi-final – In the 1990 FIFA World Cup at Mexico, Germany were up against England in the Semi-final and the match was level on 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes. After failing to get a result in extra-time, the match was set to be decided on spot kicks. England’s Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley scored their respective spot kicks followed by Germany’s Brehme, Lothar Matthaus and Karl Heinz Riedle penalties which made the score line 3-2. Stuart Pearce came forward for England to take the next kick and he fired the shot towards opposing goalkeeper Bodo Illgner’s leg and missed. Then came Chris Waddle for England and he had to score to keep their WC final hopes alive but Waddle’s shot flew over the goal post and Germany received the green light to go to the finals and they became the eventual champions as well.

3. Paul Ince and David Betty’s missed efforts against Argentina in 1998 WC – Another heartbreak at a major tournament for England came during the 1998 FIFA World cup at France as the Englishmen took on the Argentinians at the Round of 16. After the match ended in 2-2 after extra time, it all came down to penalties to find out the winner. Argentina started the proceedings with Sergio Beti scoring the first kick followed by Alan Shearer’s equalizer. Hernan Crespo stepped up for Argentina’ second penalty and he missed. England’s Paul Ince had a chance to put England ahead but his effort was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. The South Americans scored their next two penalties and so did the Three Lions. It was 3-3 by the 5th penalty kick as England’s David Betty had the task of keeping them alive but Betty’s poor shot at goal was saved by Argentina goalkeeper Carlos Roa and Roberto Alaya made it 4-3 to knock the Britishers out of the 98 World cup.

4. David Beckham’s infamous misses against France and Portugal at Euros 2004 – Former English footballer David Beckham was at the wrong end of things twice during the 2004 Euros held at Portugal. First during the group stages against France when Beckham missed a penalty which could have given England the lead. France scored two late goals to win the match. The second incident took place during the quarter-finals against Portugal when Beckham sent the ball into the stands instead of finding the back of the net. His miss was followed by Darius Vessel missing his spot kick as well and the Three lions crashed out from yet another major tournament because of the Penalty curse.

5. Frank Lampard, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard‘s Penalty miss against Portugal at 2006 World cup – Lastly on this infamous list is England’s penalty shootout against Portugal at the quarter-finals of the 2006 FIFA World cup at Germany. The Three Lions squared off against Portugal at the last 8 and it remained goalless even after 120 minutes. It again came down to penalty kicks. Frank Lampard was the first player to take the kick and shockingly the former Chelsea legend missed. Simao Sabrosa scored Portugal’s first kick followed by Owen Hargreaves equalizer and Hugo Viana’s miss. Steven Gerrard came to take England’s 3rd spot kick and the Liverpool legend failed to give England the advantage. Portugal’s Helder Postiga made it 2-1 before Gerrard’s Liverpool team mate Jamie Carragher also missing his penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the final penalty kick to show England the exit door from yet another major tournament.

Also Read – Did You know the 4 Latest FIFA World Cup 2022 Facts?