What is England’s penalty shootout record? How often Three Lions have won at World Cup and Euros from the spot

England are through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup and will take on reigning world champions France in one of the standout games of the competition.

The Three Lions are within three games of glory in Qatar but it is likely at some stage that they’ll have to face the nail biting drama of a dreaded penalty shootout.

The likes of Italy 2006, France 1998, Brazil 1994 and Germany in 1990 are all examples of teams which have won the World Cup after facing a penalty shootout at some stage in the tournament.

England last faced a penalty shootout in the European Championship final in the summer of 2021 and suffered an agonising shootout defeat to Italy at Wembley Stadium.

The Three Lions have endured a great deal of penalty shootout heartache in recent years and will no doubt be hoping to avoid that scenario by getting the job done in normal time.

But what is England’s penalty shootout record - and how many shootouts have the Three Lions won?

What is England’s penalty shootout record?

The England national team have been involved in 10 penalty shootouts in major tournaments and have managed to win on just three occasions.

The Three Lions won one of their four penalty shootouts at the World Cup and Gareth Southgate became the first ever England manager to win a penalty shootout against Colombia four years ago.

England won one of their five shootouts at the European Championships and their first and only victory on home soil against Spain in the quarter-final of Euro 1996.

England’s third and most recent penalty shootout triumph came against Switzerland during a game in the third-place play off in the UEFA Nations League. This gives Southgate a record of two wins in three penalty shootouts which is much more favourable in comparison to his predecessors.

England’s previous penalty shootouts

England vs West Germany - World Cup 1990 semi-final

England faced their first ever penalty shootout defeat in Italia 90 against the old enemy West Germany and it still remains one of the most painful defeats to date.

England were managed by Bobby Robson and were out for redemption after their controversial exit in 1986 at the hands of Diego Maradona.

Robson’s side secured top spot in the group ahead of the likes of Republic of Ireland, Netherlands and Egypt. The Three Lions then followed that up with extra time victories over Belgium and tournament dark horses Cameroon.

England were dreaming of glory in 1990 and some of the standout players in the tournament were Geordie maverick Paul Gascoigne and 1986 golden boot winner Gary Lineker.

After a thrilling 1-1 draw with Germany and a potential rematch with Argentina looming in the final, Peter Shilton failed to get near any of Germany’s clinical penalties. Meanwhile, misses from Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle left England fans wondering what might have been.

England vs Spain - Euro 1996 quarter-final

England were the tournament hosts in Euro 96 and were being cheered on by the new football song at the time Three Lions.

Football fever had swept the nation during the competition and England sailed through the group stage in style after victories over Scotland and Netherlands.

Terry Venables’ team faced Spain in their first knockout game of the tournament and were held to a 0-0 draw in a tightly fought contest. The game eventually went to penalties and it proved to be a redemption story for Stuart Pearce who missed his penalty six years earlier.

All four of England’s penalty takers kept their cool from the spot and the Three Lions secured their place in the final with their first and only penalty shootout triumph in the Euros.

England vs Germany - Euro 1996 semi-final

Terry Venables’ England team were hotly tipped to go all the way in Euro 96 - they were backed by home supporters and were blessed with an excellent team featuring tournament top scorer Alan Shearer, Paul Gascoigne, Teddy Sheringham and David Platt. The team was full of leaders and seemed to have the perfect blend of youth and experience.

The semi-final match saw a reunion between England and Germany. England took an early lead through Alan Shearer but were pegged back after a goal from Stefan Kuntz.

The match proved to be a thriller and both sides had good chances to win the game, most notably Gascoigne during the final moments of extra time.

The game went to penalties and Germany were again clinical from the penalty spot scoring all six of their efforts, meanwhile England were also very effective from the spot and scored all of their opening five penalties. However, it was future England manager Gareth Southgate who cost the Three Lions the game and his penalty shootout miss sent Germany through to the final.

England vs Argentina - World Cup 1998 round of 16

England returned to the world stage for the first time in eight years after failing to qualify for the tournament four years earlier in USA.

The Three Lions were managed by former Chelsea boss Glenn Hoddle and were hotly tipped to go deep into the competition. England had an array of experience from previous tournaments such as Tony Adams, Alan Shearer and David Seaman. Meanwhile new youngsters were breaking into the team such as teenagers Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen.

England finished as runners-up in the group behind Romania and ahead of Colombia and Tunisia. This earnt them a place in the knockout stages but a challenging draw against Argentina.

The game proved to be a thrilling 2-2 draw and it was a breakout moment for future Balon D’or winner Owen who scored a tremendous solo goal to announce himself on the world stage.

England played most of the match with 10 men after a red card for David Beckham in the opening moments of the second half. The Three Lions ultimately lost the shootout 4-3 and exited the tournament in the round of 16.

England vs Portugal - Euro 2004 quarter-final

The first of two painful penalty shootout defeats to Portugal came in the quarter-final of Euro 2004.

The Three Lions were now managed by Sven Goran Eriksson and were hotly tipped to go deep into the tournament with a new wave of talent featuring the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and teenage sensation Wayne Rooney.

England prevailed from a difficult group featuring France, Croatia and Switzerland and Rooney proved to be one of the early stars of the tournament with four group stage goals.

The Three Lions faced tournament hosts Portugal in the quarter-final who themselves had a breakout star in the form of Manchester United youngster Cristiano Ronaldo.

The game proved to be a thrilling 2-2 draw but England ultimately suffered the pain of a penalty shootout defeat and lost 6-5 with Darius Vassell missing the vital penalty.

England vs Portugal - World Cup 2006 quarter-final

The Three Lions were out for redemption heading into the World Cup quarter-final in 2006 with the media famously dubbing this group as the golden generation.

England were filled with talent across the pitch and the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand were all in the middle of their peak years for their club sides.

England sailed through the group as leaders and followed that up with by securing a 1-0 victory over Ecuador in the round of 16.

The stage was set for a redemption mission against Portugal in the quarter-final but the game proved to be a repeat rather than a revenge. England drew 0-0 and played most of the game with 10 men after a controversial sending off for Rooney.

The game ultimately went to penalties and the Three Lions lost 3-1 in the shootout after misses from Gerrard, Lampard and Jamie Carragher.

England vs Italy - Euro 2012 quarter-final

England returned to the European stage for the first time in eight years after failing to qualify for the tournament in 2008.

The Three Lions were managed by Roy Hodgson who replaced Fabio Capello on the eve of the tournament. England were viewed as outsiders for the tournament but optimism began to grow when the Three Lions topped their group ahead of France, Ukraine and Sweden.

Hodgson faced an experienced Italy side in the quarter-finals and the game proved to be a cagey 0-0 draw. The game ultimately went to penalties and misses from Ashley Young and Ashley Cole cost England a place in the semi-finals.

England vs Colombia - World Cup 2018 round of 16

The Three Lions claimed their first ever penalty shootout win at a World Cup when they overcame South American side Colombia.

England secured their place in the knockout stages as runners-up behind Belgium and recorded their biggest ever World Cup victory with a 6-1 win over Panama.

The Three Lions took the lead through Harry Kane but were forced to settle for extra time after a last-gasp goal from Yerry Mina. The game remained deadlocked throughout extra time and the dreaded penalty shootout loomed.

Southgate’s side kept their cool from the penalty spot for the first time in 22 years and earned their place in the quarter-final after a 4-3 shootout win.

England vs Switzerland - UEFA Nations League 2019 third-place play-off

The UEFA Nations League is a newly introduced international tournament and it hasn’t quite got the same level of importance as the European Championships or the World Cup.

However, England were determined to lift the inaugural tournament to boost confidence ahead of the Euro 2020 tournament. However, the Three Lions suffered a semi-final defeat to Netherlands and faced Switzerland in a third-place play off game.

The game was a low key event and finished 0-0 after 120 minutes of football. The first 11 penalties were all converted from the spot and Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford proved to be the hero with the decisive penalty save.

England vs Italy - Euro 2020 final

England secured their place in the Euro final for the first time in their history after an incredible run which saw them knock out the likes of Denmark, Ukraine and Germany.

The Three Lions were favourites to end their 55-year-wait for a major trophy and were blessed with their most talented team in recent memory featuring the likes of Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka.

Gareth Southgate’s side enjoyed a dream start to the final and took the lead after two minutes through an unlikely source in the form of Manchester United left back Luke Shaw. However, Italy equalised during the second half through Leandro Bonucci and forced the game into extra time.

After a tightly fought affair the game went to penalties and Italy ran out 3-2 winners in the shootout with Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missing the vital penalties.