David Seaman reveals who the best penalty taker at the Euros is

Former England and Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman has revealed who he thinks is the best penalty taker at the Euros.

Seaman was renowned for his penalty saving ability in the 90s - he more often than not led the Gunners to victories in penalty shootouts and made famous penalty saves for club and country.

He was an incredibly important player for England, earning 75 caps across 15 consecutive years spanning from 1988 to 2002 and playing for his country in five tournaments - three Worlds Cups and two European Championships.

Seaman has now revealed who he thinks the best penalty taker at the 2024 Euros is - spoiler alert, he's English.

"When you watch penalty takers, and I look at people like Harry Kane who is one of the best I've seen for a long long time, he hits it with pace and changes sides but he knows exactly what he's going to do before he actually strikes the ball," Seaman said speaking to Indy100.

"It's always with pace - sometimes a goalkeeper will guess right and he still can't get it - Kane has missed penalties in the past but his conversion rate is really high."

David Seaman in training for Soccer AidHenry Browne, Getty Images

Seaman revealed what was key for him in trying to work out where penalty takers were likely to shoot.

"I always used to go on their run-up - the angle dictated to me which way they were going to go," he said.

"If there were running straight, I'd go to my left, if they came at an angle I'd go to my right. As soon as they put their head down, I would go one way or the other, I would never wait or stay in the middle.

"Every time I'd get the chance in the media, I'd say I've got a secret penalty technique. I was just doing it to get in their heads so it adds more pressure to them - it was as simple as that.

"I don't know if I would be happy with a coach telling me which way to go, you've got all this data there now but at the end of the day, what if they change angle and go somewhere else?

"Most of the coaches who tell you this have never been in that kind of position before."

The most common type of penalty for right-footed players may not come as a surprise - it's bottom left, according to data from Hisense and what Seaman saw from his experiences, but the most successful are ones that dare to go high.

"If you've got the bottle and the technique to go high, then you've got a much better chance of scoring," Seaman said.

"If you don't hit it right and you're going low, it could still go in but with the high ones you've got to be perfect.

"I understand why bottom is more common, because you're just pulling it across your body and it's a bit easier on your body and your knee, it's a more natural way to go."

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