Bukayo Saka has insisted he is “more than happy” to be put on the spot by England should they require a penalty shootout to beat France in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
Saka suffered penalty heartache when he missed the decisive kick as England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy in a shootout, which also saw Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho fail to score at Wembley Stadium.
But this has not stopped Saka from stepping up and scoring from the spot for club side Arsenal since then and the 21-year-old will not hesitate if required to take one in Qatar.
“I've obviously matured and progressed a lot as a person and as a player since that moment,” said Saka, who scored his third goal of tournament in England's 3-0 last-16 win over Senegal on Sunday.
“I wouldn't have stepped up to take a penalty for Arsenal the times I've stepped up if I wasn't confident.
“If the moment comes and I'm selected to take one, I will be more than happy to.”
Saka also insists England have nothing to fear as they take on the reigning world champions at Al Bayt Stadium.
France eased into the last eight after beating Poland 3-1 on Sunday, a win that saw Olivier Giroud become the national team's all-time top scorer and Kylian Mbappe grab a double that took up him out in front in the Golden Boot race with five goals.
But Saka believes England have more than enough quality throughout the team to cause the French problems at both ends of the pitch.
“If you look at our first four games, we had three clean sheets. That shows how solid we are at the back and we have scored the most goals as well.
England 3 Senegal 0: Player ratings
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ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 8 - Got his hand to a Dia shot on 31 minutes. Stood firm in first half. Started kicking the ball long after England went ahead. Extremely vocal throughout, he’ll know that France will be a sterner test in the quarter-finals. Getty -
Kyle Walker 7 - Lucky not to be booked for a foul on Sarr after 36. The whole defence was pressured by Senegal, but it all changed after the opening goal. AFP -
Harry Maguire 7 - Played a 12th-minute ball which led to an attack but, with limited options in front, distribution was poor from the back. Another clean sheet alongside his friend Stones. AFP -
John Stones 7 - Surprised in the 22nd minute, then gave the ball away on 26 as the game slowed to a snail’s pace. AFP -
Luke Shaw 8 - Read a Koulibaly pass well to intercept and start a 42nd-minute attack. AP -
Declan Rice 7 - Didn’t show for passes enough early on, but drove forward after 44 with the goal rejuvenating England. Better performance than against the USA. Getty -
Jude Bellingham 9 - Accurate fourth-minute ball towards Saka. Set up Henderson for the opener, dragging the ball back after a rapid attack down the left. Superb break for the second goal. So mature, so good. AFP -
Jordan Henderson 8 - Put England ahead against the run of play – after making his own run to meet a Bellingham pass and slide the ball past Mendy. England have already scored 12 goals in the World Cup finals – equalling their best ever. EPA -
Phil Foden 8 - Set up the second for Kane after making a smart run to offer Bellingham options. Super set-up for the third for Saka. England needed individual moments of brilliance, Foden provided two of them. AP -
Harry Kane 8 - Surrounded by green shirts in early England attacks, but held the ball up well. Shot over after 41, then scored the second on 47. Effective dropping deep and then passing or shooting. Chopped down by Koulibaly on 75. Impressive. AP -
Bukayo Saka 6 - Poor first half, especially when he gave the ball away that led to Senegal’s best chance. Crossed for Kane on 41. Better in the second half, scoring the third after 57 with a lovely lift. PA -
SUBS: Marcus Rashford (Saka 64') 7 - Earned his 50th England cap. The closest he came to scoring was from a deep Shaw cross on 90 minutes. PA -
Jack Grealish (Foden 64') 7 - That England can bring players on of his quality shows the strength in depth for Gareth Southgate. Beaten by an 89th minute one-two. AP -
Mason Mount (Bellingham 76') 7 - The Chelsea midfielder won’t be taking Bellingham’s place any time soon, but steady as ever when he came on. And he let it go at the end shouting ‘Come on!’ to the celebrating England fans. AFP -
Eric Dier (Stones 76') 7 - Charged with keeping the status quo and the lead. Which is exactly what he did for England’s biggest World Cup knockout win since a 3-0 triumph against Denmark 20 years ago. AP -
Kalvin Phillips (Henderson 81') N/A - Not the driving force he was for England in the Euros. Not yet, anyway. Getty -
SENEGAL RATINGS: Edouard Mendy 4 - Beaten twice in the first half in comfortable fashion. The goalkeeper didn’t look at ease in this one, and made no saves of note. AFP -
Ismail Jakobs 5 - Defended well and was aware of overlapping runs from Walker, but he was caught napping by Saka who snuck in front of him to score England’s third. AFP -
Abdou Diallo 5 - Not as influential as his centre-back partner, while his positioning could have also been better. Made a number of clearances in the second half when the game was already lost. AFP -
Kalidou Koulibaly 7 - Made a number of defensive plays but wasn’t helped out enough by the players around him. Booked for a foul on Kane in the final 15 minutes. Getty -
Youssouf Sabaly 4 - Looked more comfortable when going forward, but struggled defensively on a night where England profited regularly down the flank. AFP -
Nampalys Mendy 5 - Should have done more to deal with Bellingham. Kept things simple in possession, and was accurate with his passing. AFP -
Pathe Ciss 4 - Too sloppy with his passing from midfield, and was taken off at the break as part of a triple substitution. AFP -
Ismaila Sarr 6 - Looked like one of the few Senegal players who could make something happen, but his only chance of the first half was flashed over the bar. AFP -
Iliman Ndiaye 4 - An anonymous display from Ndiaye who was substituted at the break by Senegal manager Aliou Cisse. AP -
Krepin Diatta 5 - Showed his pace but couldn’t time his runs to get into promising areas. Replaced at half-time. AP -
Boulaye Dia 6 - Had Senegal’s best chance of the game with a powerful left-footed strike that forced Pickford to make a strong save. AFP -
SUBS: Bamba Dieng (Ndiaye 46') 4 - Brought on to help get his side back into the game but soon found his team 3-0 down. Senegal rarely got the ball to Dieng, who gave it away when he did receive possession. AP -
Pape Gueye (Ciss 46') 5 - Faced similar problems to Ciss, in a midfield battle that England dominated. Getty -
Pape Matar Sarr (Diatta 46') 5 - Blasted an effort over the bar that summed up Senegal’s threat going forward. Getty -
Famara Diedhiou (Dia 72') N/R - Anonymous when substituted on in the final 18 minutes. EPA -
Fodo Toure (Jakobs 85') N/R - Introduced for the final minutes of Senegal’s 2022 World Cup campaign. AFP
“I feel we have just got to prepare the best game plan and go there with confidence. We are playing really good right now.
“There is no doubt about the quality we have in our team. We are blessed with an amazing front line. There are so many quality attacking players.
“When you are selected, it shows how much confidence the boss has in you so that gives you that extra confidence to go out and shine. Last night [Sunday], we were able to do that.”
And Saka feels that the success Gareth Southgate's side have achieved both in World Cups and European Championships shows that they a force to be reckoned with.
“There's a lot of tournament experience [in the squad] now,” he added.
“If you look at the results from the last few tournaments we've been in, we've got to a semi-final, a final and a quarter-final.
“So when the big games come, we have a lot of players who know what they need to do.”
