When Germans hear the English talking confidently about penalty-taking, as Jermain Defoe did on Thursday, they mutter "Das Pfeifen im Walde".

Without straying completely into Brothers Grimm territory, the gist of the German saying is that those who are scared walking through a forest whistle to keep up their spirits, pretending they are fine.

Defoe sounded commendably full of belief when discussing shoot-outs, arguing it was time the English “forgot” a record that lists spot-kick defeats to the Germans at Italia 90 and Euro 96, to Argentina at the World Cup in 1998, and to Portugal at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

A new spirit floods the England camp, following the cathartic victory over Slovenia, and a welcome commitment to practising penalties in training gives England hope going into Sunday’s round of 16 game in Bloemfontein.

If England line up with Jamie Carragher replacing Matthew Upson, then Fabio Capello will have plenty of players experienced at penalty-taking, albeit not always successfully.

Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Carragher all missed in Gelsenkirchen in 2006 but will present themselves willingly for duty, as will Glen Johnson, John Terry, Ashley Cole, James Milner, Gareth Barry, Wayne Rooney and Defoe.

Capello has 23 names in order and those on the pitch at the end of extra time will not be allowed shirk their responsibility. The probable German five would be Bastian Schweinsteiger (if fit), Lukas Podolski, Per Mertesacker, Philipp Lahm and Miroslav Klose.

“I can understand when you look at what’s happened over the years that people remember losing on penalties to the Germans but it’s a different game, a different time,” argued Defoe.

“I would think ‘forget about that’.” Defoe has missed six of his last 11 penalties for Spurs but was upbeat, focusing on events in England training.

At the end of every session since the pre-tournament camp in Austria, Capello has staged a shoot-out, rotating his three keepers.

“You’ve got Jamo [David James] standing there screaming ‘Come on, are you boys up for it?’ We aren’t doing the walk from halfway as some countries do. You do feel the pressure because you’ve got all the lads standing there. If you miss you are going to get a little bit of banter.

“The manager blows a whistle and you take them. When you score he doesn’t really say anything. That is a good sign. He is confident. He knows the lads are confident and ready if called upon. Most of the boys take them, even defenders.

"They are good. You can imagine what Jamo is like. He hates it when you score. He is brilliant at saving them. With his size he makes the goal look small.

Asked why some players are better at penalties, Defoe replied: “Maybe they practise more.” Running counter to the philosophies of previous coaches like Glenn Hoddle and Sven-Goran Eriksson, Defoe’s premise makes sense.

“The more penalties you take in training the more confident you feel going into the games,” he added. “Most of it is in the mind to be honest.”

Defoe converted “a big one” against Chelsea towards the end of season, showing character after missing his previous two. “I spoke to Les [Ferdinand], who was great with me. He’d say ‘J, you hit the ball clean and you’ve got a great strike so there’s no reason you should miss penalties. Just practise. Trust me you’ll score’.

“I did that in training and come match day you just knew you were going to score. If this makes sense, it makes a nice pressure because you know if I score it means so much to everyone at home and your family and helping the team achieve something special.”

Gerrard was more circumspect. “When you practise penalties in training you pick a ball up and shoot within a few seconds,” said England’s captain. “But in the World Cup... what is it? A 30-second walk from the halfway line when you’ve got millions and millions of viewers back home wanting you to score? You can’t prepare for that. What you can do is have the bottle to step up there.”

Capello believes England are better equipped to deal with pressure following the success over Slovenia. “They needed this victory,” said the Italian.

“I needed it. They can play against all the teams and I’m sure the performance will always be at this level with this spirit.” Capello praised the matchwinning Defoe, calling him “very important in front of goal”.

Defoe’s form was criticised by his club manager, Harry Redknapp, towards the end of the season, unfairly according to the player.

“The Chelsea game I played was probably my best game all season. My movement was good and I felt sharp. I picked up an injury and that put me back a bit. But I got myself fit again and got back in the team and just tried my best really. I worked hard against Man City.”

Redknapp has yet to call to congratulate Defoe on his goal against Slovenia.

“No. But I have played with Harry almost all my career and he has always been fantastic with me, phoning me regularly, ever since I was at West Ham. I am sure he will be in touch soon.”

Particularly if Defoe slots in the winning penalty against Germany, leading England out of a dark wood.