Eberechi Eze says he will not let his missed penalty in the Champions League final stop him from stepping up in a shootout for England in the World Cup.
The attacking midfielder sent his kick wide when Arsenal lost on penalties against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest last month but he is determined not to let the disappointment define him and is confident in his technique. Eze, who also had softly-struck penalties saved for Crystal Palace in games against Liverpool and Newcastle last year, dismissed the idea that it is time to move away from his stuttering runup to the ball.
“No, I think I have taken penalties for a long time and it’s part of the journey,” he said. “You have to continue to improve, find new ways to improve. I’m not going to stress too much about it because I know I’m in this position for a reason and all the training behind it.”
Eze has a calm mentality and will not shy away from taking another penalty. “Football is full of everything and you have to try to accept everything as it is, to enjoy it as much as you can,” he said. “Playing in a Champions League final is where I want to be, it’s what I want to do.
“We’ll go for it again next season and if there is a penalty to take then I’ll be there again. All the big players have missed big penalties, have experienced these type of moments. I’ve had messages from everyone to speak on those moments. For me it’s not something I wish never happened. I’m grateful it happened. I’m going to grow from it, learn from it and move forward.”
Sir Gareth Southgate says England are ready to win the World Cup. The former head coach will watch his old side from afar and is confident they are capable of claiming the men's first trophy time since 1966.
Southgate, who stepped down after losing the Euro 2024 final to Spain, is not working as a pundit during the World Cup as he does not want to run the risk of his analysis on England becoming a distraction. However he will be supporting Thomas Tuchel’s side when they face Croatia in their opening game in Group L on Wednesday and believes they are going into the tournament in great shape.
"I just wanted to take a moment to say good luck to all the boys,” Southgate said in a video posted on Instagram. “I know all the big knockout nights that we've had mean they're going to be full of confidence going into this tournament.
“They've overcome so many hurdles to winning penalty shootouts, semi-finals. We got so close and they're ready to win. I'm looking forward to watching and to get behind the boys.”
England’s confidence was on the floor when Southgate took over in 2016 but he led them to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the finals of Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
Southgate helped his players overcome mental barriers and the hope for the Football Association is that Tuchel can get the team over the line this summer. Whatever happens, though, Southgate will be keeping his thoughts to himself.
“I've been at the last seven World Cups as a player, as a broadcaster, as a scout and then as the manager,” he said. “This time I took a conscious decision not to do the TV. I didn't think it would be helpful for me to be talking about the team, and I don't want anything to be misconstrued or thrown at them in press conferences. It’s best for me to keep out of the way.” Jacob Steinberg
There is no doubt that Eze would take a penalty for England in a knockout tie. “If called upon, for sure,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I take it?”
England worked on improving their relationship with penalties during the Gareth Southgate era. They won a World Cup shootout for the first time when they knocked out Colombia in the last 16 in 2018 and they converted five nerveless kicks when they defeated Switzerland in their Euro 2024 quarter-final.
However, Southgate’s hopes of helping England win silverware for the first time since 1966 were dashed when they lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties. The backlash on social media was extreme and Eze has looked at how Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka handled the experience of failing to score against Italy. Both forwards are in England’s squad in the US and Saka exorcised his demons by scoring in the shootout against Switzerland two years ago.
“Honestly before even speaking to them, you can see the way big players carry themselves,” Eze said. “You step up, you do what you need to do. If you miss, you miss. If you score, you score. It’s having the mentality to keep going. That’s part of the journey.”
The miss against PSG aside, not much has gone wrong for Eze during the past two years. He scored the winner for Palace when they beat Manchester City in the 2025 FA Cup final and he helped Arsenal win the Premier League after joining Mikel Arteta’s side last summer.
“It’s important for a player’s confidence to have that under your belt, to experience winning,” Eze said. “It gives you a different level of confidence and a lot of players [in the squad] experiencing that is only going to help us here.”
Eze is competing with Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers for the No 10 role. He is likely to be on the bench when England face Croatia in their opening match in Group L but he is ready to play anywhere across the frontline. “I think that’s the type of player I am, it’s not just one position I can play,” he said. “Wherever I’m called upon is where I will play. I’ll try to express myself and enjoy myself.”
