For the third time in a row, Switzerland’s European Championship dreams were dashed on the penalty spot. Manuel Akanji, the distinctive national player, loses this competition.
Manuel Akanji is comforted by Ardon Jashari (left) and Ruben Vargas (right) after the match.
The direction of the stadium shows a sense of humor and drama, and the choice of song is appropriate for the occasion. “Under Pressure” by Queen will be shown on Saturday evening in Düsseldorf shortly before the start of the penalty shoot-out between Switzerland and England. And Manuel Akanji is the only shooter in the European Championship quarter-final who cannot withstand the pressure and fails because of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Akanji of all people. He was the Swiss star against England again until he missed his shot; And now Akanji has to be comforted after the game is over. Like three years ago in the quarter-final of the European Championship against Spain, when he was one of the three Swiss players, along with Fabian Schär and Ruben Vargas, who did not score in the penalty in St Petersburg.
Swiss central defender Manuel Akanji and English forward Harry Kane take part in a final during the match.
And so Switzerland’s European Championship journey in Germany, which had been a dream for a long time, comes to an abrupt end. For the third time in a row they have been eliminated from the European Championship on penalties – eight years ago in France in the round of 16 Granit Xhaka was the only one not to score against Poland.
The quarter-final of the European Championship between Switzerland and England is not a good one. The teams fight each other like boxers for long stretches, sometimes the Swiss joint for a little more cover, sometimes the English again. The encounter can also be compared to a chess match between two opponents who would be happy with a final game. But this evening’s draw is not an option.
Akanji neutralizes Kane
A long evening is coming soon. Before the break, it was the speedy Bukayo Saka who brought the game to life as he regularly ran from Michel Aebischer, but he could not find any receivers on his passes into the middle. Swiss defense chief Akanji not only organizes the defense in a stylish way, but also makes the world class striker Harry Kane look like a young player. Kane only touched the ball nine times in the first half, never in the twenty minutes before half-time, and was substituted in extra time.
The England coach, Gareth Southgate, has decided to adapt the system to the opponent for this quarter-final after terrible performances at this European Championship. This shows the respect that the Swiss deserves from one of his favourites.
Like Switzerland, England are lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation – with Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden in central roles behind Kane. But Saka is almost exclusively the cause of danger. Shortly before the break, after another successful dribble, Granit Xhaka saved Sakas with a strong tackle on Kobbie Mainoo’s shot. After the match, Xhaka revealed that he played with a torn adductor muscle. “I wanted to be there for the team and cut my teeth,” he says. “But I couldn’t really hit long balls or shoot at goal during the game.”
Even in the second half, both teams are like a combination of boxers and chess players. On the one hand, this leads to tough duels and, on the other hand, a lot of ball pressure. It’s a stalemate.
The Swiss scored the first blow when Embolo made it 1-0 from a few meters in the 75th minute after an assist from Dan Ndoye and a deflection from England defender John Stones. It is not a winning blow for the English, as five minutes later Aebischer does not attack Saka energetically enough again and scores with a well-placed low shot to make it 1-1.
The Swiss celebrate Breel Embolo’s opening goal.
0:0, 1:1, it doesn’t matter this evening. Lottery does not apply. Not after 90 minutes, not after extra time, in which the coaches activate their best penalty takers from the substitutes’ bench. This certainly includes Xherdan Shaqiri, who also uses the 15 minutes of playing time to shake up the chess game with a pinch of Anarchy. In the 117th minute he almost produced a stroke of genius when he kicked a corner straight onto the crossbar.
In any case, it is the Swiss who are much more powerful in the final stage, who are closer to victory and have promising opportunities. They play as if they want to prevent the duel between shooter and goalkeeper for good reasons. On the other hand, the English, who have missed a penalty so often in recent years – the most recent in the European Championship final against Italy three years ago – are still confident this time from eleven meters.
The English, all the people.
Swiss fans watch the game at the public viewing in the Winti Arena in Winterthur.
A place of reconciliation
Basically, Düsseldorf is not a worthy place for the biggest game in Swiss football history this Saturday evening. A football cathedral in Milan or Madrid, London or Paris or at this European Championship in Berlin, Munich or Dortmund would be a suitable venue for this. And it’s not a second rate club field in Germany.
After all, Düsseldorf is also considered a city where Murat Yakin and Granit Xhaka had lively conversations about fine wine and good food a few months ago. The coach and his captain found each other late, but not too late – and thus laid the foundation for the national team’s successful European Championship campaign.
Switzerland’s dream of victory ends in a penalty. As happened at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when they lost all three attempts in the round of 16 against Ukraine in Cologne, just fifty kilometers from Düsseldorf. Eighteen years ago, goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler did not concede a goal in the entire competition. And the current Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer is now going home without being able to excel in this European Championship.
Euro 2024 may feature a final between your two favourites. However, the duel between English and French minimalists would not be a dream come true.