Talisman: Hart can lay claim to the England No 1 jersey for many years to come

This confidence will feed into all facets of Sunday’s game. Italy and England are notoriously poor penalty takers but, if after two hours, the teams cannot be separated, Englishmen would feel as much confidence seeing young Hart in goal as Italians would feel in the veteran Buffon. Hart, however, has no desire to be the penalty hero.

‘As a goalkeeper it is your moment, but I’d prefer to win the game properly in normal time,’ he admitted. ‘Nobody blames the goalkeeper for not saving a penalty so people think it doesn’t matter to us but, whether you get the blame or it’s not your fault, you’re still out and that’s your worst nightmare. Whether it’s 5-0 or out on penalties, the end result is the same.

‘Penalties are a lottery. The game has dragged on for 120 minutes, usually by the 105th everyone’s knackered so the last 15 are a waste of time anyway. You just need some way to bring it to an end.’

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