What’s it like to… score the decisive penalty in a shoot-out for England at the World Cup?

It all starts this time with DR Congo and England’s first Round of 32 match in the World Cup at Atlanta this evening (5pm UK).

England were eliminated on penalties in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96 (both Germany), the Round of 16 of the 1998 World Cup (Argentina), quarter-finals of Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup (both Portugal) and the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 (Italy).

Then, in 2018, it all changed.

Gareth Southgate’s team took on Colombia in the Round of 16 of the World Cup. The game finished 1-1 – Harry Kane on target – and fans wearing the Three Lions no doubt started to watch between their fingers.

Three Spurs players stepped up in that shoot-out – Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier and Eric Dier.

Colombia scored their opener, Harry converted again and was followed in by Marcus Rashford for 2-2. Colombia made it 3-2, Jordan Henderson missed, Colombia missed, ‘Trips’ scored for 3-3 and Jordan Pickford then crucially saved from Carlos Bacca.

That meant Dier had the chance to change the script – and did just that, firing low beyond David Ospina’s dive to win it 4-3 – England’s first shoot-out win at the World Cup and first in a major finals since beating Spain in the quarter-final of Euro 96 – 22 years earlier.

Speaking to us on the eve of the tournament, Eric – 365 appearances for us, 2014-2024, capped 49 times – gave us his memories of that moment

What's it like to score the decisive penalty in a shoot-out for England at the World Cup?

Eric: "This is not the answer you were looking for, but there's a really good lesson in this which really describes the world of football right now. I scored the winning penalty in that knockout match, it's true, yet I didn't play a lot in that World Cup. I was very lucky. I captained England at that World Cup, against Belgium. Individually, I'd say that was more special to me than scoring the penalty, especially with all the (Spurs) boys there, although I didn’t enjoy playing against Mousa!

"What I always think about is when I came home, people would say ‘you were unbelievable at the World Cup’ but the thing is, I barely played. I obviously came on and scored the winning penalty against Colombia, but I didn't play a lot - but I scored the winning penalty, and that resembles a lot of what football is right now – the perception – the perception versus reality. So, I always think about that.  People come up to me and say, ‘you were so good at the World Cup’ and I think... ‘I didn't really play a lot’, but I scored that penalty.

"It was an incredible feeling, collectively. It was much more special collectively than individually for me, because we hadn't won a penalty shoot-out for ages (22 years) - we hadn't won a knockout game for ages, and we knocked down those two walls in that moment. Collectively, that was so special for us. That was really what was... you know, a great relief, I think, collectively, to have broken down those barriers. We put so much effort into that collectively as a team. The English national team wasn't looked at in the way it's looked at now. We spent a lot of time trying to identify the team with the nation and that kind of thing.

"I've actually always been very confident taking penalties. That wasn't a very good penalty, by the way! I was at Matt Doherty’s after the Champions League Final, we were talking about penalties and my penalty wasn’t a very good one, but it beat the goalkeeper. It was an interesting psychological exercise because, obviously, as a country, there was this huge thing around penalties, but I didn't feel that at all, and I think part of that was because I'd grown up somewhere where there wasn't that feeling towards it. Growing up in Portugal, it was actually the opposite - they'd always been very confident around penalties.

"If you ever spoke to Harry Kane, he'd always ask about it. I'd always practise penalties all the time, just for fun more than anything. Then I'd watch him, and from him, I'd learn how to have a routine. I'd speak to Harry a lot about penalties. So, I had a routine. It was different standing there on the half-way line waiting for my turn, but once I got there and entered my routine, I was actually very calm. I felt like I could faint while I was standing watching the penalties, but once I was there taking it, I actually was pretty calm.

"When I look back at the World Cups I was involved in (2018. 2022), what was special was being part of a group that every day was working really hard together collectively towards something. So, at that World Cup, I think about Danny Welbeck, the way he used to train every day when he wasn't playing at all. Fabian Delph, myself, how we used to play head tennis in the gym every day at the hotel - those are the things that I think about, and being there with Harry, Kieran Trippier, Dele, John Stones – being with your mates, basically, at the World Cup. Those are the things that are special to me - I don't really think about my penalty at all."