ENGLAND should be considered favourites if tomorrow's Euro 2020 game with Germany goes down to penalties, an expert on spot-kicks has said.

Journalist Ben Lyttleton conducted two years of research for his 2014 book Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty Kick, interviewing psychologists, sports scientists and athletes about the conditions behind some of the most memorable successes and failures in shoot-outs.

The idea was inspired by the Three Lions’ successive defeats in tournament penalty showdowns, including two losses to the Germans.

Since it was published, however, England have won their last two head-to-head shootouts – something Lyttleton believes is down to manager Gareth Southgate and the learnings from his own “penalty trauma” at Euro 96.

Lyttleton said Southgate had clearly “set about to turn the narrative” after becoming England boss, by using a three-word mantra: “Own the shoot-out”. This far more serious approach to spot-kicks included far greater practice of penalties, including mimicking the circumstances by encouraging them to take them while tired and in some cases telling them where to place their shots, based on prior analysis.

He added: “The other thing that Southgate got the players doing was practising the walk – it seems really obvious, but this did not happen in the past. So they would practice the walk from the centre circle to the spot.

“Many players have said it’s a really scary moment - if no one’s ever done that before, and you do that, for the first time, with a whole world watching and the nation’s hopes on your shoulders, it’s no surprise that you might fail to execute your best penalty kick in that situation without any practice.”

Lyttleton said the marked improvement in England’s victorious shootouts against Colombia and Switzerland gave him confidence they were now better prepared than the side which knocked them out in both Italia 90 and Euro 96.

“These are lessons that are getting through to the players focus on your breathing, take your time, and practice with purpose,” he said.

Asked to choose his five takers, Lyttleton went for Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, Raheem Sterling, Keiran Trippier and Marcus Rashford.