Three years on from losing the European Championship final on penalties, England beat Switzerland in a shootout to reach the semifinals of Euro 2024.

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the winner as England swept all of its penalties to win the shootout 5-3 after a 1-1 draw in extra time on Saturday.

“The team showed a lot of character, belief, heart and spirit out there,” Alexander-Arnold told the BBC.

England converted its first four penalties and Alexander-Arnold won the game with the fifth, blasting his shot into the top corner. Another who scored was Bukayo Saka, who missed the last penalty kick of the final shootout in 2021 and was racially abused on social media.

Saka also equalized earlier to ensure the game went to extra time after the Swiss took the lead.

The other shootout scorers were Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham and Ivan Toney, who returned in January from an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules.

England was in the lead in the shootout after goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved from Manuel Akanji, who took Switzerland’s first penalty kick.

England goes on to play Turkey or the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday for a spot in the final.

Last updated on September 23rd, 2024 at 08:32 am