England's [Images] World Cup hopefuls are determined to end a tale of woe in penalty shootouts that has dogged their country's hopes of trophy success.

England will leave for Germany [Images] having known far more agony than ecstasy in a discipline which has come to play a key part in the latter stages of tournament soccer.

Shootout misses have condemned England to exits at World Cups in 1990 and 1998, along with Euro 96 on home soil and by hosts Portugal in Euro 2004.

"To go out on penalties is the biggest kick in the teeth you can have in football at this level," said England midfielder Frank Lampard [Images] after trudging off the pitch in Lisbon in 2004.

Goalkeeper David James took his share of the blame for England's exit in the nerve-jangling finale, saying: "I'm gutted that I had seven penalties and I didn't save one."

England will probably have to face their demons to succeed at the finals where games will be very tight after a group stage against Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden.

"If we're not prepared for them this time, then I don't think we ever will be," experienced defender Gary Neville told reporters at a training camp in Portugal. 

"We've had so many bad experiences with penalties.

"We know what's going to happen, we know what can happen. We know it's probably going to come to penalties in one of the four knockout games if we're going to go far in this tournament. And we've got to deal with it."

DOING HOMEWORK

Neville believes it is harder to beat the current generation of keepers, many of whom will have done their homework on the players they are likely to face.

"I think goalkeepers are more agile and it's getting more difficult to score penalties... they're a lot more flexible, with the spring they have and their speed off the mark.

"Goalkeepers will know exactly the history of which player is going to take them and which side they go, too.

"Penalties is a habit thing, they [strikers] have a preferred side and they're obviously going to want to go to a preferred side in a moment of pressure."

With James relegated to the subs bench in Germany, the weight of responsibility for England will fall squarely on the shoulders of Paul Robinson.

The taciturn Yorkshireman feels ready and able to cope with a World Cup shoot-out -- but is keeping the secret of his preparation very much to himself.

"I have been doing a lot of research and I'll be going into penalty shoot-outs -- if and when we come across them -- very well prepared," he told reporters.

But he added: "I am not going to sit here and tell you what I've done in case it gives a few clues away.

"I say I will give myself every chance of saving a penalty. You never know which way a striker is going to go but if you prepare as best as you can, you give yourself a greater chance."

POTENTIAL HERO

Robinson, who saved a penalty for Tottenham Hotspur in their final game of the Premier League season against West Ham United, is well aware of the stakes.

"As a 'keeper in a shoot-out you can become a hero or you can lose on penalties," he said.

One man who is famous for having experienced both extremes of emotion is former England defender Stuart Pearce, now Manchester City's manager.

His penalty was saved in England's 1990 World Cup semi-final defeat by Germany in a shootout.

"My world collapsed," he later wrote in his autobiography Psycho.

"I had been taking penalties for as long as I could remember but now I'd missed the most important penalty of my life in the semi-final of the World Cup.

"If the walk from the centre circle had been long and nerve-racking, the walk back was a nightmare as the first onrush of tears pricked at my eyes."

But Pearce confronted his demons six years later at Wembley -- scoring from the spot against Spain at Euro '96 and giving a roar of release after the ball hit the net.

"When I scored my reaction wasn't stage-managed," he wrote. "It was a release of pressure and if you looked around the stadium you could see the relief and joy on every English supporter's face."