Lampard continues penalty duty
Lampard continues penalty duty
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Thursday, 01, Jun 2006 09:19
Frank Lampard insists that he will continue to take England's penalties at the World Cup despite missing one against Hungary.
Lampard has taken over from captain David Beckham after he missed a couple of spot-kicks.
The penalty saved by Gabor Kiraly was the first time Lampard has failed from the spot in an England shirt, but he is confident that he will slot away his next one.
Lampard looked visibly nervous before shooting after Steven Gerrard's dive at Old Trafford and England fans will hope that the player does not succumb to the usual penalty curse, which has affected the team in so many major tournaments.
The midfielder said: "I'm still the England penalty taker, I want to keep doing it. You know you might miss one one day but I'll carry on. Luckily for me it was only a friendly but it was a reminder I need to stick them away.
"At Chelsea I practice them two or three times a week and maybe I haven't done that in the last two weeks because I've been trying to get my fitness up. It's vital that the penalty taker is 100 per cent certain he wants to take them and I'll put some time in now."
Lampard has come under pressure for his performances alongside Gerrard but his scoring record for a midfielder is second to none for Chelsea and England.