England through to Euro 2024 semi-finals after beating Switzerland on penalties

After coming back from 1-0 down, Gareth Southgate’s side battled through extra time without a goal – and then calmly won the penalty shootout as fans including Prince William watched on at the Dusseldorf Arena.

England are through to the Euro 2024 semi-finals after beating Switzerland on penalties.

The tense game ended 1-1 after extra-time, with both sides unable to break the deadlock.

England then faced a penalty shootout without their captain and de facto penalty taker Harry Kane, who had been replaced by Ivan Toney in the second half of extra time.

There was no need for England fans to panic though, as Gareth Southgate’s side scored all five of their penalties.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Pickford celebrate after winning the penalty shootout. Pic: Reuters

After Cole Palmer stepped up first and scored for England, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford helped the team to an early advantage in the shootout as he saved Manuel Akanji’s strike.

England’s Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Ivan Toney then followed suit with three more goals, leaving Trent Alexander-Arnold to coolly put away the fifth.

The triumphant display came three years after England were denied the Euro 2020 title when they lost on penalties to Italy.

The Prince of Wales was among fans who cheered England on at the Dusseldorf Arena and could be seen out of his seat and punching the air after their 80th minute equaliser.

England will play their semi-final match on Wednesday and face the Netherlands, who beat Turkey 2-1 later on Saturday evening.

The match had seen Switzerland go 1-0 up in the 75th minute after a goal from Breel Embolo – but England levelled the score just five minutes later with a goal from Saka.

For the second match in a row, England then faced extra time.

Declan Rice came close to giving England the lead five minutes in to the extra half an hour of play, but his long-range effort was tipped around the post by Switzerland’s keeper, Yann Sommer.

England’s quarter-final fightback comes after they were almost eliminated from the tournament last Sunday, after falling 1-0 down to Slovakia – until Bellingham scored a stunning equaliser with seconds to spare.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/england-through-to-euro-2024-semi-finals-after-beating-switzerland-on-penalties-13174184

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