England moved in to the semi finals of the 2024 European Championships with victory over Switzerland. The Three Lions needed a penalty shoot out at the end of an enthralling 1-1 draw to ensure that they reached the next stage of the competition and have their sights on potentially claiming the trophy at the end of the tournament. Were they to win the tournament, this would be extremely decisive in showing how far the team had come under manager Gareth Southgate.
In what was being heralded as Southgate’s hundredth match in charge of England, the side had a nervy start to the match with both sides struggling to find the back of the net in the opening minutes. Southgate and his side have heard a lot of people talking as well as reports in the news and elsewhere about what they could potentially achieve and what it would mean to the country as a whole. They had to try and play the best match that they could and not let the pressure of what has happened in the past weigh too heavily on their shoulders.
On the whole it was an extremely competitive match with Switzerland scoring the opening goal. This came half an hour after the restart and meant that England had to score to win the match or try and force extra time. Luckily enough five minutes later Saka scored for England to leave the tie level. The final twenty minutes of the game was filled with both sides attacking and doing what ever they could to try and force the ball in to the back of the net to min the game.
At the end of 90 minutes the match remained 1-1 leaving it to hopefully be decided in half an hour of extra time. Following the half hour of extra time, the match remained goalless meaning the match would have to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. These are very tense times which not that many people like as it is like a lottery and depends on which team and players are in good form taking penalties at the time. These can be difficult to take at times as you have to ensure that you take the penalty at the right moment and are not leaning too far back when you kick the ball. Otherwise, the ball might go too high and miss the net completely.
It can be a very difficult situation with mind games being played between the penalty taker and the goal keeper to see which way each player would go.
Five flawless penalties from Cole Palmer, Bellingham, Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold, combined with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s save from Manuel Akanji, got the job done. Next it’s on to a semi-final against the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday.
England manager Gareth Southgate said “if I can’t enjoy this moment then it’s a waste of time” after his side reached the Euro 2024 semi-finals by beating Switzerland 5-3 on penalties.
The Three Lions’ moment of jubilation was made even sweeter for Southgate as he celebrated with supporters following the recent “difficult personal” criticism he has faced in Germany.
“Every now and then surely there has to be some enjoyment in this job,” said the England manager. “I love the players and sharing that moment with them.
“I can’t deny when things get as personal as it has it does hurt. I don’t think it is normal to have beer thrown at you. But we are in a third semi-final in four tournaments. We will keep grinding, keep fighting and keep enjoying this journey.”
