England spot on.

Joe Cole has insisted England will be "as ready as you can be" if they face another penalty shoot-out during the World Cup finals.

England have been on the receiving end of spot-kick heartbreak four times during major finals in the last 16 years.

They came off second best in the 1990 World Cup semi-finals, the last four of Euro 96, the second round of the 1998 World Cup and the quarter-finals of Euro 2004.

Gary Neville claimed that "something was fundamentally not right" after England bowed out on penalties to the host nation Portugal two years ago.

With four possible knockout games facing England if they qualify from their group, Cole and his team-mates know they have to conquer their penalty hoodoo.

Cole said: "You can practice penalties all day and all of the night and it is not the same as taking them on the day in a match situation.

"If it comes to that scenario in the summer, we've got a great keeper in Paul Robinson and we will have five or six lads who can take penalties.

"We are definitely due to win one of these shoot-outs after losing four of the last five and, if it does get to that stage, we will be as ready as you can be.

"You remember looking at the confident way the Portuguese players stroked their penalties away against us two years ago to go through to the semi-finals.

"But we've got players who can take penalties. Let's hope it doesn't come to that and the best teams go through as of right rather than there being a stalemate."