Soccer-England's Saka ready to step up for penalty duties at World Cup

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - England Press Conference - Al Wakrah SC stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar - December 5, 2022 England's Bukayo Saka during the press conference REUTERS/Molly Darlington

AL RAYYAN, Qatar (Reuters) - Bukayo Saka's world came crashing down when he missed the last penalty in the shootout of the European Championship final last year, but the England forward said on Monday he had matured since that miss to become a more confident player.

Saka took England's fifth spot kick against Italy after Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho had failed to score, with his miss giving Italy the trophy at Wembley -- a miss that resulted in a torrent of social media abuse that was often racist.