England progress to the Euro semi-finals after beating Switzerland in a penalty shootout in Gareth Southgate’s 100th game in charge.
Embed from Getty ImagesTrent Alexander-Arnold dispatched the winning penalty to send Switzerland packing and England through to the last four. Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, and Ivan Toney scored the other four penalties. Jordan Pickford also denied Manuel Akanji to help his country win 5-3 after a 1-1 stalemate in normal and extra time.
England take on the Netherlands in the semi-final after their 2-1 victory over Turkey, Stefan de Vrij’s equaliser and a Turkish own goal saw them progress to the next round.
The first half was quiet by way of chances, with neither side registering a shot on target, but it came to life in the second after Breel Embolo broke the deadlock.
The Switzerland forward prodded the ball home from close range in the 75th minute to give his side a deserved lead. Little did he know this would inspire the moment England finally kicked into gear.
Embed from Getty ImagesJust five minutes after Embolo’s tap in, Saka scored a screamer from outside the box, wrapping the ball into the far corner from outside the box.
The Arsenal winger picked up the man of the match award but it wasn’t just the goal that earned it. Saka created the most chances (two), completed the most dribbles (four), won the most duels (10) and scored his penalty in the shootout.
Declan Rice picked up an easy assist but did have another impressive display in the base of Southgate’s midfield. He won the most tackles in the match (4/4) and misplaced just one of his 93 passes.
Embed from Getty ImagesSaka’s goal was enough to take the game to extra time, similar to the previous two quarter-final matches that took place yesterday. England sat back as they did against Slovakia and, despite a few half chances, saw the 30 minutes out before penalties.
Former Liverpool and Stoke winger Xherdan Shaqiri almost scored the winner directly from a corner. His superb curling effort caught out Pickford but struck the crossbar, which meant the game had to be decided from 12 yards.
Embed from Getty ImagesWith Harry Kane already substituted, Cole Palmer stepped up first to take a penalty and coolly sent Yann Sommer the wrong way. Pickford saved Akanji’s tame effort to give his nation and early advantage.
Bellingham and Toney rolled their penalties into the back of the net with ease, but the big moment came when Saka’s turn arrived. With the heartbreak of Euro 2020 no doubt in the back of his mind, Saka managed to emphatically beat Sommer and his penalty demon’s in an England shirt.
Alexander-Arnold scored England fifth and final penalty in superb fashion, just as his four teammates had to secure a spot in the semi-final against the Netherlands.
England take on Ronald Koeman’s side on Wednesday 10 July in Dortmund, kick-off is at 8pm.
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Isabelle Newnham
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