England beat Switzerland on penalties in a tight contest to progress to the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
The Swiss opened the scoring when Breel Embolo escaped Kyle Walker at the back post to slot home a Dan Ndoye cross that had deflected off of John Stones.
The Three Lions‘ equaliser came just minutes later, a magical strike from Bukayo Saka sent the tie into extra-time.
The teams could not be separated after an extra 30 minutes and a penalty shootout was required, where Gareth Southgate’s team prevailed.
Here are the key takeaways from the contest.
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Alexander-Arnold ends England penalty shootout hoodoo
England have notoriously struggled in penalty shootouts, losing seven of their last 10 in competitive fixtures, however, they were flawless in this one.
Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Ivan Toney all converted before Trent Alexander-Arnold stepped up to send the Three Lions into the semi-finals.
The latter two were seemingly brought on with a potential shootout in mind, and both made no mistake when the time came.
It was a great moment for both, the Brentford striker having suffered a tough year following a long ban for betting offences and for the Liverpool star, who has found himself out of favour for the national team after starting the first two matches of the tournament.
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England still rely on moments of brilliance
After Bellingham saved Southgate’s bacon in the previous round against Slovakia, it was Saka who equalised on this occasion with a stunning curling effort from the right flank in the manager’s 100th fixture in charge.
A change in system meant that England were better off the ball and their press was stronger but they still struggled to create chances.
The Three Lions failed to record a shot target in the first half of the contest, and Saka’s excellent effort was their only one in the second 45 minutes.
Defensively, they had several moments of weakness too, the worst of which was when Ndoye’s cross eventually found Embolo, who escaped Walker at the back post to open the scoring.
They are through to the semi-finals but there is still a lot of work to do if England are to win their first European Championship title.
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Embolo shines once more
Although his team were ultimately eliminated, Breel Embolo shined again at Euro 2024.
The Monaco forward constantly harassed the Three Lions‘ defence, eventually putting his side ahead in the 75th minute.
His resurgence at this tournament has been a real feel-good story, after a career that has been dogged constantly by injuries.
He was once touted as one of football’s top young players when he burst onto the scene, and despite his form at the competition it is unlikely that he will earn a big move, given that he is 27 years old and injury-prone.
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Xhaka brilliant once again
Granit Xhaka was on the losing side, but he put in a true captain’s performance, giving his all to try to drag his side into the semi-finals.
The former Arsenal captain was at the heartbeat of everything that the Swiss attempted, with 140 touches of the ball, the most for either side in the contest.
His passing was extremely accurate, completing 114 out of 121 attempted passes for a 94 per cent completion percentage.
When it came to defending, he was excellent, winning six ground duels of ten attempted, making four clearances, two blocks and not being dribbled past all match.
The Bayer Leverkusen man had a sensational tournament, and it is a shame that it has come to and end.