Add another chapter to England’s tortuous history with penalty shootouts.
Three years on from losing the 2021 Euros final on penalties, England’s players radiated confidence as they beat Switzerland in a shootout to reach the semifinals of Euro 2024.
Trent Alexander-Arnold blasted the ball into the top corner for the winner as England swept all of its penalties to win the shootout 5-3 after a 1-1 draw in extra time on Sunday morning (AEST).
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“The team showed a lot of character, a lot of belief, heart and spirit out there,” Alexander-Arnold told the BBC.
“We knew it was going to be tight but whatever it takes, no matter what, we win and that’s all that matters.”
England players celebrate the penalty shoot out victory during over Switzerland. Getty
Benched following England’s first two Euro 2024 games, Alexander-Arnold “could have easily thought his tournament was done,” England manager Gareth Southgate said.
“I kept talking to him. He’s going to have moments, there’s still a big part to play,” he said.
The cheers from fans watching on their phones at Wimbledon even brought about a brief stopped in play between Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin.
But at Alexander-Arnold and his teammates celebrated, Bukayo Saka dropped to his knees near the center spot and looked to the sky. Having earlier slotted his own penalty in the shootout, it was a moment of redemption for the 22-year-old.
His was the decisive penalty in the Euro final in 2021 that was saved to seal the title for Italy at Wembley Stadium.
Saka and fellow Black players Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, who also failed with their spot kicks in that shootout, then received horrific racial abuse on social media as a result.
Saka was 19 at the time, the youngest player in a multi-ethnic England squad that won the hearts of the football-mad nation — before the loss to Italy, anyway.
Bukayo Saka celebrates after scoring his penalty. Getty
Three years later and there was Saka again, making that long and lonely walk from the center circle to the penalty spot to take England’s third kick of the shootout against Switzerland.
This time, he found the bottom corner of the net, and cupped his ears in celebration, as England went on to win 5-3 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw that had seen Saka score the equaliser in the 80th minute.
“For me, it’s something I embrace,” Saka said of the pressure he was feeling taking a penalty again for England.
“You can fail once but you have a choice if you put yourself in that position or not again.
“I’m a guy who is going to put myself in that position. I believed in myself. And when I saw the ball hit the back of the net, I was a very happy man.”
Saka said it had been “really difficult” to bounce back from that fateful night in July 2021 but “used it to make me stronger.”
He said he wasn’t thinking of his miss against Italy when he took his penalty against the Switzerland.
“I’m not going to be focusing on the past,” he said.
“That’s done. I can only focus on now and taking the penalty. I know there are lot of nervous people watching, my family included in the crowd, but I kept my cool and I scored.”
Saka has now set up a goal for Jude Bellingham in the group stage and scored himself at Euro 2024 — and it was a crucial one against Switzerland, which took the lead in the 75th through Breel Embolo at Duesseldorf Arena.
Saka equalised when he cut inside from the right and curled a low shot into the corner from the edge of the area.
“We know there’s two more games until we can change our lives and make some history,” he said. “We are focused on that.”
England ‘keeper Jordan Pickford was sensational in the shootout. Getty
England will play the Netherlands in Dortmund on Thursday morning (AEST) for a spot in the final.
Switzerland, which has never reached the semifinals of a major tournament, exited the European Championship on penalties in the quarterfinals for the second time running after defeat to Spain three years ago.
It was the second game in a row that England left it late to win, after beating Slovakia 2-1 in extra time in the last 16.
The quarterfinal went to extra time after Saka scored with a shot off the post in the 80th minute to cancel out Breel Embolo’s goal five minutes earlier for Switzerland.
It was the first shot on target for England in what was otherwise a cagey and cautious performance from the 2021 runner-up.
The team’s drab tactics have drawn criticism from fans, including some who threw plastic cups in Southgate’s direction after a 0-0 group stage draw with Slovenia.
England’s Cole Palmer and Swiss Silvan Widmer compete for the ball. Getty
“When it’s as personal as it’s been in the last few weeks, on a human level it’s quite difficult,” Southgate said, going on to defend England’s “streetwise” approach to winning games.
The Swiss had the better chances to win in extra time. Xherdan Shaqiri hit the frame direct from a corner, and Zeki Amdouni forc Pickford to make a save in the 119th.
England was without captain and striker Harry Kane for the shootout after he collided with Southgate on the touchline while challenging for a ball and appeared to be hurt.
He was replaced by Toney. Kane had cramp, Southgate said.
Taking charge of his 100th game, Southgate has now taken England to at least the semifinals in three of the four major tournaments on his watch.
“We’ve never been to a final outside of England, we’ve never won a Euros,” Southgate said. “So there’s two bits of history we’d like to create.”