Only a mildly masochistic English fan would want the Euro 2024 final to go to penalties. The King himself has told Gareth Southgate to get the job done in 90 minutes.
We've been here three years ago and lost. But since then, England's spot-kick training has gone up a level so they have no fear going forward against Spain, with one expert labelling it the best penalty shoot-out preparation in world football.
Some aspects of England's gameplan, particularly early in the tournament, have come in for justifiable criticism. But their infamous 12-yard Achilles heel is better than ever. Penalties have been on Southgate's mind since taking charge in 2016, when he quickly set up an 18-month task force tasked with ending England's hoodoo of six defeats in seven on spot-kicks.
His work alleviated the pain of his Euro 96 defeat as England beat Colombia in the last 16 at World Cup 2018, but old worries returned three years later with defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
Southgate is also aware that penalties are no lottery, and their record of three shoot-out wins from four is proof of the hard work they have put in to build up a small but crucial edge over their opponents.
This was reflected in England's accurate spot kicks against Switzerland, a rare feat and the first time they scored five out of five in a shoot-out.
Southgate and his backroom staff have created what Geir Jordet, professor of psychology and football at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, calls “the world’s strongest set-up” from 12 yards.
“They've prepared, they've made mistakes, they've corrected those mistakes,” said Jordet, who served as part of the FA task force eight years ago.
“With this set-up and the quality of penalty takers and goalkeepers, England will be favourites in any shoot-out in this tournament. And who would have thought that many years ago?
“In my opinion England has one of the strongest, well thought out, structured structures in the world.”
Of course, there are still no guarantees of success. You never know when Sandy will become the next victim on the penalty spot, or when a goalkeeper who feels like a prophet will have a breakthrough.
England's focus is on the controllables, which they have done better than any other team in this tournament and that at least gives them the best possible platform to perform.
After the whistle blew at the end of extra time against Switzerland last Saturday, Southgate assembled just 11 players, all of whom were required to take spot-kicks.
The rest of the team, as well as England's backroom team, were also sent back – a contrast to previous shoot-outs.
This gave him the opportunity to address and motivate his players directly, as well as introducing a new part of his methodology. Each player was appointed a 'buddy' to welcome him back to the pack on the halfway line after spot-kicks, so that the pressure could be absorbed collectively rather than put on one individual.
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After Ivan Toney's no-look penalty against Switzerland, England had some light-hearted fun with the Brentford striker at their training camp.
Images of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho sprinting 50 yards all by themselves back to the centre circle after missing their kicks in the Euro 2020 final would have surely inspired the move.
Jordet has criticised England's previous approach in his recently published book 'Pressure: Lessons from the Psychology of the Penalty Shoot-Out'. Long before Euro 2020, he suggested a less structured version of this new approach to the task force. Six years later, it appears to have been accepted.
“I think their focus was on the process, whether they scored or missed, that was something they learnt from Great Britain Hockey,” he said.
“To me it’s a wasted opportunity to show solidarity, belonging, harmony, support and things like that.
“In 2007, I worked across the whole squad and welcomed bringing a player back into the centre-circle and spoke to the FA task force about it, but England didn't adopt it until 2018 or 2021. Now they have taken it to the next level.”
England also had another ace in Jordan Pickford – until referee Daniele Orsato's suspicions were aroused and he threatened to show the goalkeeper a yellow card.
Pickford has handed the ball to England's emerging penalty taker in every shoot-out under Southgate. This time, he was to welcome him on the edge of the penalty area and take him to the penalty spot, giving Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer a two-on-one advantage on the psychological front.
It was halted prematurely under the threat of a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. “Maybe he didn't get my accent,” the Sunderland native laughed afterwards.
He is adept at breaking shoot-out rules, and was warned by Orsato for timewasting even before Manuel Akanji's early Swiss penalty.
When the Manchester City defender missed from 12 yards, his teammates adopted the same approach as England had adopted on the half-way line.
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Gareth Southgate's press conference after the Switzerland win discussed penalty decisions, tactical plans and England's road habits.
While their Swiss counterparts traditionally stood with their arms around each other, England's players largely stood as one large group – avoiding an 'us versus you' situation when a player who receives the ball in the 18-yard box returns.
That extra pressure may not have been a major contributor to England's disappointment in 2021, but all these little aspects add up to a big contribution.
After Italy’s defeat, when scapegoats needed to be found, the decision to introduce Rashford and Sancho just seconds before the end of extra time played a key role in the gloomy analysis.
Southgate did not make the same mistake twice. The seven and 13 minutes that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ivan Toney played before Saturday's penalty were not physically significant, but psychologically it made a difference.
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Captain Harry Kane praises Bukayo Saka's mentality after he took a penalty in England's win over Switzerland
“With Rashford and Sancho they came into 2021 without any rhythm,” Jordet said. “It's like they're not part of the team, almost.”
“The rest of his team has taken him to the penalty shootout and now it’s up to him to perform well and reward his team-mates, and that puts more pressure on him.
“The main way to fix this problem is to give players more game time and to some extent Southgate has done that.”
The case is now out in the open. Spain has eight days to consider how to foil these best-laid plans on the spot, if it gets that far.
But with England confident they have done everything possible to prepare ahead of time, will it be enough?
