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Mention the words ‘penalty shootout’ to an England fan of a certain age and you’re likely to trigger a visceral reaction.
For a generation of Three Lions fans, the spot-kick defeats in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2012 were enough to make them believe a level scoreline after 120 minutes meant a certain exit.
That run would finally come to an end in 2018 when Colombia were vanquished in the World Cup last-16 in Russia, with England having won two of their three subsequent shootouts.
Joe and Ashley Cole on England’s spot-kick record
Joe and Ashley Cole were both in the starting line-up of the 2006 World Cup quarter-final penalty shootout defeat to Portugal , a match which came two years after the pair were present for another spot-kick loss to the same opposition.
But while the memories of those defeats will never be shifted, the pair are at least able to take solace in the fact that England have been able to shift their penalty hoodoo.
“I think England have overcome that now,” Joe tells FourFourTwo . “But we lost a lot of shootouts from 1990 and it became a thing.
“You have to credit Jordan Pickford and the boys – they’ve turned that round, haven’t they? The Colombia game in 2018 was huge for this country.
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“Now we have a keeper who can save penalties, and players used to taking them in big moments. I’m confident going into the next one.”
Ashley Cole believes that England’s improved record is down to the coaching staff taking a more holistic approach to how penalties are practised.
“All we did is practise,” the former Chelsea and Arsenal defender adds. “We had three big goals lined up, and you’d take a penalty against this goalie, another against that goalie, and a third against that goalie.
“But now there are so many strategies that help you – with your breathing, with your understanding, with so much stuff.
“We just put the ball down and it was, 'Pick your side, then go that side in the game.' We didn’t have any coaching or mental training.
“Now there’s a lot of data that goes into it, a lot of studies, so that’s why they’re well prepared in this day and age.”
Could It Be Coming Home? with Joe Cole and Ashley Cole is brought to you by Carling, official sponsor of the Emirates FA Cup and Adobe Women’s FA Cup. Watch the show on YouTube and Spotify, or listen to it wherever you get your podcasts
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