England‘s major tournament debutant Cole Palmer has been named as the number-one penalty-taker in international football in a new report.
The Chelsea starlet, who was named his club’s Player of the Season after a blistering first season at Stamford Bridge, has carved out a reputation as one of the most ruthless spot-kickers in the game.
Palmer was even called upon by Gareth Southgate to step up and take the first penalty for England in their Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland, with the former Manchester City player coolly tucking away his effort to spark the eventual win.
But Palmer is far from the only one of Southgate’s Three Lions to have made the list, which was designed to take in not just players’ accuracy, but their composure under pressure, as well as the importance of the penalties that are put away.
As per Give Me Sport, those metrics see that Palmer is joined by two other Premier League stars in the top five, with four in total rounding out the best 10 penalty-takers.
Cole Palmer’s showing from the spot has earned him his place at the top of a list of the game’s best takers
Palmer is closely tracked by his England team-mate Ivan Toney, who pulled off an excellent no-look effort against Switzerland
Gareth Southgate’s side triumphed in the shoot-out to book their place in the Euros semi-finals
Ivan Toney is deemed the second-best in the world, with 30 scored to Palmer’s 14 – although the Brentford striker has missed two, and Palmer zero.
Toney won plaudits for his round-of-16 effort, which saw him stare out Switzerland ‘keeper Yann Sommer rather than keep his eyes on the ball and still manage to find the back of the net.
While Toney was unavailable for much of Brentford’s travails this season, Palmer and his penalties played an instrumental role in helping Chelsea secure European football after a year without.
Palmer netted nine of his 22 Premier League goals from the spot, holding his nerve in pulse-raising ties against big-beasts Manchester City and Manchester United.
Only one other Chelsea player has scored more from the spot in a single Premier League season – Frank Lampard, who netted 10 in 2009-10.
Man United’s captain Bruno Fernandes rounds out the top three thanks to his titanic record of 54 scored with only six missed in his impressive career.
The Portugal star, however, was unable to take part in his country’s own penalty shoot-out at this year’s Euros after being subsituted during their quarter-final clash with France.
But one player who did step up and put away his effort – days after missing from the spot during Portugal’s round-of-16 match against Slovenia – was Cristiano Ronaldo, who is ranked fourth-best in the report.
Ronaldo’s towering goalscoring record is predominantly made up of goals from open play, but the former Real Madrid superstar has previously put away 163 penalties, missing 30.
Robert Lewandowski, on 80 penalties scored and just nine missed, rounds out the top five, with Ronaldo’s closest rival for the highest number of spot-kicks scored – Lionel Messi, with 110 put away – could only make 9th place.
The Argentine playmaker may be considered one of the greats in the history of the sport, but has a shakier record 12 yards out.
The Inter Miami star made headlines last week after failing to put away a panenka attempt during Argentina’s Copa America quarter-final match against Ecuador, with the holders narrowly avoiding elimination when his team-mates prevailed in the penalty shoot-out.
Cristiano Ronaldo makes the top five having put away an enormous amount of penalties
Lionel Messi was unlucky to miss his latest effort when a panenka went awry against Ecuador
Erling Haaland is the highest ranked Premier League star who did not travel to Germany for this summer’s Euro 2024
Of Premier League stars, Erling Haaland ranks sixth in the standings on 45 scored with five missed, just above stuttered run-up maestro Jorginho in seventh, with the two remaining domestic stars – Joao Pedro, Alexis Mac Allister and Bukayo Saka – sitting in 13th, 14th and 15th place respectively.
In eighth place is Harry Kane, who has scored 74 of his penalties but missed in dramatic fashion to all but confirm England’s 2022 World Cup final exit at the hands of France in Qatar.
Rounding out the top 10 is Romelu Lukaku, but one name stands out among those who just missed out on making the grade – Kylian Mbappe.
The France captain has missed nearly 20 per cent of the penalties he has taken for club and country, failing to net 10 out of 52.
