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 during the World Cup. The attacking midfielder sent his kick wide when Arsenal lost to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in Budapest last month, but he remains determined and confident in his technique.
Eze, who also had softly-struck penalties saved for Crystal Palace against Liverpool and Newcastle last year, dismissed the idea of changing his stuttering run-up. '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 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.'
Southgate Backs England
Sir Gareth Southgate says England are ready to win the World Cup. The former head coach will watch from afar and is confident they can claim the men's first trophy since 1966. Southgate, who stepped down after losing the Euro 2024 final to Spain, is not working as a pundit during the World Cup to avoid distraction. He supports Thomas Tuchel’s side as they face Croatia in their opening Group L match on Wednesday.
'I just wanted to take a moment to say good luck to all the boys,' Southgate said in a video 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 low when Southgate took over in 2016, but he led them to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and finals of Euro 2020 and Euro 2024. Southgate helped players overcome mental barriers, and the FA hopes Tuchel can get the team over the line this summer. Southgate will keep his thoughts private. '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.'
Eze's Confidence
There is no doubt 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 improved their penalty record under Southgate, winning a World Cup shootout for the first time against Colombia in 2018 and converting five kicks against Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-final. However, they lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties. Eze has studied how Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka handled missing against Italy. Both forwards are in England’s squad, and Saka scored 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.'
Aside from the miss against PSG, little has gone wrong for Eze in the past two years. He scored the winner for Palace in the 2025 FA Cup final against Manchester City and helped Arsenal win the Premier League after joining 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 and is likely to be on the bench against Croatia. 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.'
