England manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed his side will follow the penalty shoot-out framework established by his predecessor Gareth Southgate at the World Cup.
England face DR Congo in their first knockout game of the tournament on Wednesday, with the prospect of a shoot-out a very real possibility should the match remain level after 90 minutes.
Before Southgate took charge of the national team in 2016, England had a deeply troubled history from 12 yards, winning just one of seven tournament shoot-outs across their history.
Southgate transformed that record significantly, with England winning three out of four shoot-outs during his tenure as manager of the national side.
Tuchel has made clear he has no intention of abandoning those methods, choosing instead to build on the foundations his predecessor laid during a decade in charge.
“The FA has a programme that has been in place for years and we follow the programme,” Tuchel said, confirming the continuity of approach heading into the knockout rounds.
“We are prepared. We have a process, the players have a process,” he added, striking a measured but confident tone ahead of Wednesday’s tie.
However, Tuchel was also careful to acknowledge the unique psychological demands that a shoot-out places on individual players, which no training session can fully replicate.
“I think it is difficult to simulate the situation of a penalty shoot-out,” he said, referencing Thierry Henry’s admission that he cannot recall the walk from the halfway line to the spot in his first shoot-out for France.
“You cannot train that,” Tuchel added, underlining the mental challenge that remains beyond the reach of even the most thorough preparation programme.
On the question of who would take the penalties, Tuchel revealed the order has already been determined while acknowledging the unpredictable nature of how games unfold.
“We know who takes them and we know the order but we don’t know who finishes the game,” he said, suggesting some flexibility remains built into the plan.
Southgate’s approach was rooted in the belief that penalties were not a lottery, with takers selected well in advance based on training performance and preparation rather than in-the-moment decisions.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was a key part of that system, famously using notes on his water bottle detailing detailed research into opponents’ likely penalty-taking approaches during shoot-outs.
Southgate also assigned each player a “buddy” to meet them at the halfway line after their walk back, a detail designed to ease the psychological burden on the individual.
England’s shoot-out record under Southgate included a historic 2018 World Cup win over Colombia, a 6-5 Nations League victory over Switzerland in 2019, and a 5-3 Euro 2024 win over Switzerland, offset only by the painful Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
Turning to the DR Congo match itself, Tuchel urged supporters not to anticipate a polished or eye-catching display from his side at this stage of the competition.
England topped Group L with wins over Croatia and Panama either side of a goalless draw against Ghana, but Tuchel believes the more demanding tests will draw out the team’s best football.
“We face actually a copy of Panama and Ghana in the round of 32,” Tuchel told BBC Sport, framing DR Congo as a disciplined, defensively-minded opponent rather than an expansive attacking threat.
“We will see the best version of us if we overcome the next rounds and go further in the tournament once teams want to actually beat us and not hold us down and refuse us to play,” he continued.
DR Congo reached the last 32 after finishing third in Group K, recording a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan but suffering defeats to Portugal and Colombia along the way.
“I think this is not the moment now to shine and to expect glamorous performances. This is the moment to go through, to get the job done, to step up, to show individual quality and little moments,” Tuchel concluded.
