England’s 5 penalty takers picked forward of big World Cup conflict with DR Congo
England head into the knockouts for the World Cup with a clear warning from Germany and Netherlands about the dangers of penalties, and Three Lions legend Alan Shearer has selected his five takers
Thomas Tuchel needs to see more from his England team against DR Congo
England begin their knockout World Cup journey against DR Congo after Germany and the Netherlands exited on penalties – meaning the Three Lions had better be ready for spot kicks.
Thomas Tuchel’s side looked unconvincing – bar 15 minutes after half-time against Croatia- in the group stage, despite topping Group L with two wins and a draw. But the Three Lions were painful to watch in the goalless draw against Ghana and staggered to a 2-0 win over Panama.
Both sides played defensively and dropped deep, in a similar way that is expected from DR Congo in the round of 32. Sebastien Desabre’s side held Portugal to a 1-1 draw despite having just two shots on target and 25% of the play. That game is an obvious warning to England that they must improve in possession in the final third – because if they don’t find a way to break the Africans down, then the dreaded penalty shootout may loom after extra time.
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Speaking to Daily Star Sport via Betfair, for whom he is hosting a Hot Take Hotline where he answers fans questions for the World Cup, Shearer called upon England to be more creative and improve against teams deploying a low block.
“DR Congo will likely play a low block, but I think they’ll have a bit more in forward positions than perhaps Ghana did,” Shearer said
“If England can’t get through it, they’ve got to go around it. If they can’t do that, they’ve got to then score from a set piece. They’ve got to have the belief that they can win this game.
“I don’t think they’ve had a bad draw up until now. I think it was a favourable group for England, albeit they made hard work of it. Still topped the group, still won two of the games.
“But let’s hope the best is still to come from England, because there’s no doubt they’re going to have to step up and they’re going to have to improve and get better.”
Shearer revealed the team he would choose to play on Wednesday, and named the five stars he’d select to step up from 12 yards if the game goes the distance to a penalty shootout.
Germany were dumped out on penalties for the first time in World Cup history by Paraguay before the Netherlands were beaten by Morocco from 12 yards. Their exits couldn’t possibly be a louder warning to Tuchel and England.
Shearer continued: “My starting XI against DR Congo would be: Pickford, Spence, Stones, although I don’t know what’s happening with Stones. If he’s got an injury, which we don’t know about, which he may have because we haven’t seen him for two games after him starting the first game.
“So, I don’t know the situation with that, but it would be him or Konsa and Guéhi. O’Reilly, Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Saka, Rashford, Kane.
“My prediction will be an England victory, 2-1. Harry Kane and Declan Rice on the scoresheet.
“Now that we’re in the knockouts, they will be thinking about penalty takers. We’ve already seen some big teams go out on penalties in the round of 32. For me, my five would be: Harry Kane, Anthony Gordon, Ivan Toney, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, if they are all on the pitch.
“I’ve been in that situation where you’ve got your five before the game and there may be only two left on the pitch. So, you have to chop and change. But in an ideal world, if it goes to penalties, then those would be my five.”
Betfair launched Alan Shearer’s ‘Hot Take Hotline’ ahead of this summer’s World Cup, giving fans the chance to vent their strongest opinions and share their hot takes directly to an England legend throughout the tournament.
The Hot Take Hotline is now live, and fans can get involved by calling 0800-707-4073 and leaving a voicemail.
