July 6 – England defeated Switzerland 5-3 from the penalty spot after a 1-1 draw to reach the last four of Euro 2024.
In the end, England prevailed. Just about. They had fallen behind, clawed their way back into the match, hung on in the final minutes of extra time, and ultimately won, almost uncharacteristically, from the penalty spot.
It wasn’t the free flowing, excitement English fans had been calling for, but it was the win they wanted.
Jordan Pickford saved Manuel Akanji’s penalty, Switzerland’s first, and from the point they couldn’t keep up as the English hammered their five penalties home.
Southgate, in his 100th match for England, punched the air, and the fans rocked the stadium to the tunes of Freed from Desire. Suddenly, England are just 90 minutes away from a second consecutive European championship final.
England and Southgate had tricked everyone all week long, hinting at a back-three formation with Bukayo Saka in a wing-back role, but all the chatter about a formational switch was nothing but a smokescreen.
Breel Embolo, who scored first for Switzerland is challenged by Kobbie Mainoo
The England manager reverted to type, fielding Ezri Konsa alongside John Stones at the heart of his defence. It seemed that Southgate still felt England didn’t need much of a left side.
Much of the week, England’s camp had spoken about Jude Bellingham’s goal being a turning point, but how Southgate wanted to improve his side with the same old formation was unclear. The inertia of the past four matches had been damning and yet England were still in the tournament.
There were some early signs of encouragement as England moved and attacked better. They got stuck in and perhaps enjoyed their best spell of the championship, controlled the game and Saka found some space in behind Rodriguez, but that did not translate into opportunities.
The Swiss never generated the pressing that had bamboozled the Italians in the round of 16, but even as Murat…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/07/06/england-beat-swiss-penalties-head-last-four/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-07-06 19:57:25
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.