Tuchel will stick to Southgate's penalty plan

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Thomas Tuchel is in his first major tournament as an international manager By Sami Mokbel Senior football correspondent in Atlanta Published 31 minutes ago England manager Thomas Tuchel had revealed that his team will follow his predecessor Sir Gareth Southgate's penalty shootout blueprint at the World Cup. Tuchel's side face DR Congo in their first knockout game of the tournament on Wednesday, a scenario that opens up the potential for penalties. The match, which kicks off in Atlanta at 17:00 BST, is live on BBC One and iPlayer. Prior to Southgate's appointment as manager in 2016, the national team had a poor record in major tournament shootouts - winning just one of seven. But under Southgate, England took their penalty preparations to a new level which resulted in three out of four successes between 2018 and 2024. "The FA [Football Association] has a programme that has been in place for years and we follow the programme," Tuchel said. "We are prepared. We have a process, the players have a process." Despite the plan, Tuchel also added a note of caution. "I think it is difficult to simulate the situation [of a shootout]," he said. "I heard Thierry Henry say he can't remember the walk from the halfway line to the penalty spot in his first penalty shootout for France - you cannot train that." Asked if the players will be given the option to take a penalty, Tuchel replied: "We know who takes them and we know the order, but we don't know who finishes the game." England right-backs Quansah and James miss training Published 55 minutes ago What was the Southgate approach? Southgate's meticulous planning included a philosophy based on the belief that penalties were not a lottery, and that clarity and preparation were key. The team practised penalties regularly and sought to replicate, as far as possible, the actual experience in training to help the process become more driven by muscle memory. Southgate decided on his penalty takers well in advance based on that training, and strove publicly to take full accountability to take any blame away from his players. He also assigned each player taking a penalty a "buddy" to greet them at the halfway line after the long walk back. This was designed to share the pressure. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford also had notes from detailed research of the opponents' likely approach written on his water bottle. In the Euro 2020 final loss to Italy, Southgate had brought on Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho with seconds to spare at the end of extra time, but both missed their spot-kicks. After that, Southgate felt this did not allow them enough time to feel part of it, so he adjusted the approach to give penalty takers more time on the pitch beforehand. How Bellingham became Tuchel's most important player Published 2 days ago Southgate's shootout record England have been part of 11 penalty shootouts at World Cups, European Championships and Nations League finals. Before Southgate took