England's Steven Gerrard will be practising penalties ahead of this
summer's World Cup in an attempt to avoid a repeat of his 2006
heartbreak.
Gerrard, along with Frank Lampard and Jamie Carragher, missed
in the Gelsenkirchen shoot-out against Portugal as England crashed
out at the quarter-final stage in Germany four years ago.
Despite being a good penalty taker for Liverpool, Gerrard
admits he could not handle the pressure of taking a spot-kick for
England, and it led to goalkeeper Ricardo parrying his effort.
After losing on penalties in major tournaments in 1990, 1996,
1998, 2004 and 2006, Gerrard wants to make sure England will
succeed if matches go the distance in South Africa.
"I think, having missed the penalty, I'll probably be a bit
more composed next time and take my time a bit more," Gerrard said.
"I'll work that little bit harder in training to make sure I
know what I'm going to be doing. It all happened really fast in
2006 and I felt after the penalties that I should have taken my
time more.
"It is massive pressure but that's what we've got to do,
we've got to try and handle that pressure. I didn't handle it in
2006, so, if I'm put in that situation again, I will try and deal
with the pressure a lot better.
"But it's difficult, it's not like taking a normal penalty in
practice - you've got so much responsibility. You know all the fans
back home are watching and, when you're tired, when you're under so
much pressure, that's when mistakes happen and that's what happened
to me in 2006."
Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce, who is in the backroom staff of
the seniors, makes his youngsters take penalties after every
training session.
England boss Fabio Capello, with a reputation for being
thorough in his preparations, would be expected to get his players
right for a shoot-out if they fail to settle a match in 120
minutes.
Gerrard told fifa.com: "He'll bring many qualities to the
team. He's a winner; he's got an unbelievable amount of experience
and has enjoyed a remarkable amount of success.
"He's transmitting a winning mentality to the team, so
fingers crossed that will stand us in good stead for the
tournament."
Capello has given Gerrard a unique role for England, starting
on the left flank then interchanging with Wayne Rooney as a support
forward.
It has led to a convincing qualifying campaign and high
levels of expectations when the tournament kicks off in June, with
England facing USA, Algeria and Slovenia in Group C.
"As players, we have to deal with the expectations and the
pressure of playing for England," Gerrard added. "The supporters
and media are very passionate about the country and a lot is
expected of us. It's important that we, as players, cope with that
in the best way we can.
"We are pleased with the draw and we're very confident that
we can qualify from the group but, at the same time, we have to
show the teams respect. (They) are desperate to beat England. We
know they're going to play the game of their lives, so we need to
make sure we perform well to win."
Although Capello has not formerly announced his skipper and
deputy following John Terry's axing, he implied Gerrard will be
vice-captain to Rio Ferdinand.
Gerrard, insisting his game is not affected by wearing the
armband, said: "It's exactly the same. When I play for England,
when I'm not captain, I still approach it exactly the same as if I
am captain and I try and go out there and lead by example, so I can
help my team-mates and do the right thing.
"So, although it is nice to be captain and it's a privilege,
you approach the game exactly the same with an armband on or off."
Meanwhile, Manchester United striker Michael Owen, who has
scored 40 goals for England, admits he has little chance of going
to the World Cup.
"It's been a long time since I was in the England squad,"
Owen told BBC Radio Five Live. "You never give up but it's probably
a long shot in racing terms."
Ahead of the tournament, Japan have announced a friendly
against England on May 30 in Austria.
