With the score remaining 1-1 for the full 120 minutes, it was time for another round of spot kicks to decide who would go through to the semi-final. England came out on top of Switzerland as they advanced 5-3 on penalties.
England book their spot in the semi-final of UEFA Euro 2024 via spot-kicks (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
New Delhi: England and Switzerland battled it out in the quarterfinals of UEFA Euro 2024 at the Dusseldorf Arena in a bid to grab one of the two remaining semi-final spots. It was a closely contested affair between the two sides as it was expected to be and ended with England/Switzerland coming out on top.
The first half offered little goal-mouth action as England and Switzerland were locked in a tight and tactical 0-0 draw at halftime. While neither side managed to test the keepers on both ends, Saka looked lively down the right flank, easing past Aebischer and Rodriguez thanks to his pace. Captain Harry Kane continued his patchy form as he could only fetch eight touches in the entire half. Switzerland looked resilient in their performance but lacked a bit of incision with Rieder and Vargas not being as involved as they did previously.
The second half provided much more excitement as both teams improved their output. Switzerland were the ones who broke the deadlock with 15 minutes remaining as Breel Embolo picked up the ball after it deflected off John Stones from a Ruben Vargas cross as he did just enough to get the ball past a scrambling Jordan Pickford. England were once again behind in a knockout game and needed their resilience to get themselves back in.
Southgate’s men did exactly that as they ensured the Swiss lead for just five minutes as Bukayo Saka got off the mark in the tournament to draw things level again. Saka collects Declan Rice’s pass on the right before cutting in past both Aebischer and Zuber. Making just enough space for himself, he hit his strike with pinpoint accuracy as his effort clipped off the post before heading in.
Bukayo Saka rescued England at the time of their need (Photo by David Inderlied/picture alliance via Getty Images)
There were no goals in the full 90 minutes after Saka’s strike as the referee’s whistle blew to indicate extra time was on the cards. Things remained cagey in the first half of extra time as neither side looked to take a lot of risks as penalties loomed over everyone’s heads. Eze’s introduction made things a bit lively in the final third but Yann Sommer was on hand when called up to keep England restricted after 105 minutes of action.
The introduction of Ivan Toney, Trent Alexander Arnold, Zeki Amdouni, and Xherdan Shaqiri within 10 minutes of the restart seemed to indicate both sides were preparing for penalties but not before Switzerland almost caused a heartbreak for the English faithful as they failed to convert some crucial chances. With the score remaining 1-1 for the full 120 minutes, it was time for another round of spot kicks to decide who would go through to the semi-final.
All four of the names introduced in the second half of extra time that were just mentioned went on to put their spot kicks away. Out of the nine penalties that were taken, eight were scored as Manuel Akanji’s missed penalty differentiated the two sides as England went through to the semis 5-3 on penalties.
Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the winning penalty to send England through to the semis of UEFA Euro 2024. (Photo by Oliver Hardt – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Switzerland had a brilliant tournament where they were within two minutes of beating hosts Germany and topping their group, they knocked out the defending champions in the pre-quarters and took England to penalties before their dream run ended. Impressive back-to-back quarter-final appearances for the Swiss in UEFA Euros are signs of a new International dark-horse on the rise potentially.
England, meanwhile, live to fight another day in Germany as they somehow find themselves in the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2024. They take on the winners of the Netherlands vs Turkey game in the next round and they’ll surely be thinking about bettering their campaign from the previous edition. Despite being below their best in the entire tournament till now, Southgate’s men have been grinding out results and that is the sign of a champion team. Are these signs of football coming home finally? We’ll have to wait and watch!
Top performers of the match
Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka were two of the best performers on the field tonight. (Photo by Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Both sides had standout performances from players who share an Arsenal connection. Bukayo Saka was England’s best player on the night and was finally absolved himself from the ghosts of his past in this competition as he was calmly able to put his spot kick away this time round. Before that as well, he was the most lively player on the field for England, providing a bit of creative spark down that right wing.
Ultimately it was Saka who rescued his side out of a tough spot as he scored England’s only goal of the match to get his side back on level terms. Apart from scoring, he was always a menace in the opposition box getting 8 touches, second only to Bellingham’s 10 in the full 120 minutes. Even though he was playing at right-wing back, he was able to create two chances, most any England player could in the game.
For Switzerland, it was ex-Arsenal midfielder and Swiss captain Granit Xhaka who had a solid game in the middle of the park. This was another strong campaign for the Swiss captain after another great campaign in the 2021 edition. Xhaka was the lynchpin of the Swiss midfield as he had significantly more touches than any other player on the pitch, ending up with 140 touches of the ball. He also was willing to put his body on the line as he blocked four of England’s shots as well.
Another solid display from Xhaka ultimately ended in vain as Switzerland’s fairytale run ended in heartbreak while England’s dream hangs alive on a thread.
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