Bart Verbruggen could be on the hot spot in Dortmund this evening.

England have a habit of going to penalties on the big occasion.

Equally, their matches at Euro 2024 have all been closely-fought affairs – a 1-0 win to open with and then level at 90 minutes in the next four games.

So the question has been asked of those who have seen him play a fair bit: What is Verbruggen like against penalties?

The answer depends on where you have watched him and who you speak to.

In the Netherlands, he is seen as a penalty expert and has been asked about that a couple of times before and during the tournament.

But we have not seen any of that in Albion colours.

He has never really looked like saving any of the four he has faced.

And the most recent player to beat him was England wideman Bukayo Saka, when Arsenal won 3-0 at the Amex.

Albion’s penalty expert in terms of goalkeepers remains Jason Steele.

So why the discrepancy?

It appears to date back entirely to a European tie between his previous club Anderlecht and Ludogerets 17 months ago.

The play-off in the Conference League went to a shoot-out after Anderlecht responded to a 1-0 away defeat by winning 2-1 at home.

Verbruggen saved all three penalties he faced to send his side through. In reality, the three spot kicks were all weak efforts and he got to them comfortably.

One would certainly expect rather better from the Three Lions should it come to that this evening.

But, by not committing early, he was able to get across and make the saves.

After the game, he said: “There’s not one trick for penalties but I’m just trying to put pressure on them.

“What I tried to do was wait as long as possible until the player chose a side.

“It’s not easy, it’s not even a full second you have.”

Verbruggen appeared to try that ploy when he faced Mo Salah at the Amex last season but he moved too late to get to his bottom right hand corner as he Liverpool man put a decent amount of power into his shot.

It was a bit like Peter Shilton at Italia’90.

Since then, he has appeared to commit to one side rather than wait.

He was sent the wrong way by both Morgan Gibbs-White at Nottingham Forest and by Saka.

Although he went the right way in the FA Cup tie at Stoke, the well-stuck effort from Lewis Baker again beat him low down.

These were all in the normal 90 minutes.

Facing penalties in shoot-outs is a different ball game, as is seen best with Emiliano Martinez.

The Aston Villa and Argentina No.1 does not have a great record against spot kicks within matches but is an expert in the various arts of the shoot-out.

Will it come to that this time?