England players celebrate after winning their Euro 2024 quarterfinal match in a penalty shootout.
Photo: INA FASSBENDER
England reached their third semi-final in four tournaments when Trent Alexander-Arnold slammed home the decisive kick to give them a shootout victory over Switzerland after the teams had drawn 1-1 in a tense quarter-final.
Alexander-Arnold, dropped from the starting team after two disappointing performances in the group stage, came on as a late extra-time substitute to take the glory after Jordan Pickford had saved from Manuel Akanji.
It was the third successive quarter-final to go to extra time, two of them to penalties.
Breel Embolo had put Switzerland ahead after 75 minutes, with Bukayo Saka levelling five minutes later in a game of few chances.
In Wednesday’s semi-final in Dortmund, England will meet either Netherlands or Turkey, who play later on Saturday (7am NZT), after snuffing out Switzerland’s dream of making a first major semi-final.
The first 45 minutes did not do much to engage the fans, though England were at least more positive than in their last two matches.
Three times Saka hit the byline, but on each occasion his poor cutback went straight to a defender and when he did find a white shirt just before halftime, Kobbie Mainoo’s shot was superbly blocked by a sliding Granit Xhaka.
Despite their relative improvement, England still failed to muster a shot on target, but nor did the Swiss, who were held at bay reasonably comfortably by a well-drilled England defence.
Swiss coach Murat Yakin threw on Steven Zuber and Silvan Widmer after an hour but England’s Gareth Southgate, as always, kept his powder dry. It was the livelier-looking Swiss who took the lead after 75 minutes when Dan Ndoye whipped in a deflected low cross from the right, with Breel Embolo stretching in front of Kyle Walker to poke it home.
Southgate responded by immediately throwing on three substitutes Cole Palmer, Luke Shaw and Eberechi Eze – and five minutes later England were level as Saka cut in from the right wing and curled a brilliant 20-metre left-footed shot in off the far post.
The best early chance of extra time fell to England’s Declan Rice, whose shot from the edge of the box was brilliantly saved by a diving Yann Sommer, while Xherdan Shaqiri clipped a post direct from a corner, before the penalties that had felt inevitable almost from the start duly arrived.
Switzerland had lost three of their four major tournament shootouts, while England’s famously uncomfortable record was seven defeats and two wins.
That reads 7-3 now after Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Saka – who missed in the Euro2020 final shootout defeat to Italy – and Ivan Toney all scored confidently ahead of Alexander-Arnold.
– Reuters