Fabio Capello Needs to Address England's Penalty Phobia

There's no doubt Fabio Capello has addressed the fear factor which has inhibited England over recent years, but the Italian tactician still has to tackle the Three Lions' inability to score from 12 yards.

The England players’ fear of the penalty shoot-out has been the overwhelming memory from the major tournaments of the last 20 years.

Frank Lampard's missed spot-kick for Chelsea  and Jermain Defoe's failed penalty for Spurs at the weekend were stark reminders of England's recent problems, not least because both players should be on the plane to the World Cup Finals next summer.

Gary Lineker, Stuart Pearce, Chris Waddle, David Beckham and Lampard are just a few of the high-profile names who have missed penalties in World Cup shoot-outs.

The bottom line is that England have the worst World Cup penalty record of any nation in the history of the competition - seven misses over three tournaments.

This is something that the team will need to address, especially when you consider how crucial penalties have been over the years.

Italy won the 2006 World Cup via a penalty shoot-out, South Korea beat Spain on penalties to reach the last four in 2002 and France and Brazil both won shoot-outs en route to the 1998 final.

It's undoubtedly the loneliest walk in football, striding towards the penalty spot with the hopes of a nation on your shoulders, but big-time players should be capable of handling pressure situations.

This is a notion that Capello will look to instil in his men.

The England coach has already guided the Three Lions to South Africa with nine wins from ten in qualifying, scoring 34 goals in the process - the most in Europe.

A terrific turnaround when you consider Steve McClaren's shambolic efforts to guide England to the 2008 European Championships – efforts which ultimately ended in failure.

All Capello has to do now is change the mentality from the penalty spot.

If he can do this, England’s World Cup odds might be justified this time.

In other news, experts are currently casting their eyes over the possible outcome of one of next year’s other major sporting events, the 2010 Grand National.