Calcutta: England U-17 team goalkeeper Curtis Anderson kept his calm to produce an outstanding save to deny Japan's Hinata Kida during the penalty shoot-out in the Round of 16 match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday.

The young 'keeper revealed that he likes taking responsibility.

"I like to take on responsibility and it's something I've done before. It's totally normal for me. Having said that, I wouldn't like to take a penalty during normal time," Curtis was quoted as saying by fifa.com.

History says that England have traditionally been uncomfortable during penalty shoot-outs. Since 1990, they have faced six penalty shoot-outs at major tournaments, losing five of them - more than any other team. They lost to Germany at the 1990 World Cup and Euro '96, went down to Argentina at 1998 World Cup and were defeated by Portugal in 2004 and 2006 World Cups.

But Curtis had not given England's poor penalty record a second thought, instead focusing on staying on his line, maintaining his concentration and then "picking a side".

"There's always a bit of luck involved," he said.

England face the USA in the next round. Speaking about the US team, who recorded a resounding 5-0 victory over Paraguay in the Round of 16, Curtis said: "They're definitely strong opponents, but we'll be ready."

The pure confidence exuded by the 17-year-old is entirely justified. Having conceded just two goals in four matches, both of them in the 3-2 win over Mexico, England have one of the strongest defences in the tournament so far.

If they manage to combine the old adage of 'attack wins you matches, defence wins you titles' with their new-found love of spot-kicks, then their best may be yet to come in India.