Euro 2020: Calvert-Lewin admits he should not have given Romania penalty to Henderson

England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has vowed to get more ruthless and assert himself in the national side by taking penalties when on the field.

Calvert-Lewin was denied a spot-kick in the Three Lions’ most recent friendly against Romania after the ball was seized by captain Jordan Henderson.

The Everton man had gone down inside the area and was England’s striker on the field, but gave up spot-kick duties once his skipper asked him to stand aside.

Henderson would go on to miss from 12-yards, and Calvert-Lewin has now admitted he probably should have pressed ahead and insisted on taking the penalty. 

‘He said that he hasn’t scored for England yet, so he wanted the penalty,’ Calvert-Lewin told Sky Sports.

‘Maybe in hindsight as a No 9, I should have taken the penalty. But on another day, he puts that into the back of the net.

‘It’s maybe one of those things. If I want to go to the next level then I have to be more ruthless there and take the penalty.’

After the match, England boss Gareth Southgate admitted he thought Calvert-Lewin, who has four goals in nine England games so far, would have been the taker, despite not being one of the initial names put down.

He said: ‘Marcus [Rashford] and James Ward-Prowse were the two nominated at the start of the game.

‘Of course they both came off, so I’d have to say I was expecting Dominic to take it at that point. But Hendo was the captain on the field by then and was the one to make the decision.

‘He’s been a very positive influence around the camp with the group. It’s a step forward for him physically today, which was important in order for him to be able to play some sort of part in the tournament.’

England begin their Euro 2020 tournament on Sunday against familiar foe Croatia, before going on to meet neighbours Scotland and the Czech Republic in the group stage.