EURO 2024
For a long time there was sadness. But in a dramatic twist, the English managed to reach the semi-finals of the European Championship in a competition with Switzerland.
England players are celebrating after winning the final.
Photo: Marius Becker/dpa
After the fortune, the tension of the English national football team was released into a frenzy of joy. The winning scorer Trent Alexander-Arnold hit the ball into the stands and enjoyed the enthusiastic cheers of the fans. With a penalty 5:3 (1:1/1:1/0:0) in the penalty against Switzerland, the Three Lions avoided the threat of elimination from the European Championship thanks to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and moved into in the semi-finals.
Switzerland’s Manuel Akanji, the tragic hero of the game, was unfathomable. The former Borussia Dortmund professional failed in the nerve-wracking thriller as the only penalty taker against Pickford.
After 120 minutes the score in the quarter finals was 1-1. In front of 46,533 spectators in Düsseldorf, England’s Bukayo Saka (80th) canceled Switzerland’s lead through Breel Embolo (75th).
As happened in the round of 16 against Slovakia (2:1 nV), the Three Lions showed qualities to come back. “The team showed a lot of character, a lot of belief, a lot of conviction, a lot of passion too. And exactly when it mattered, we did it,” said Alexander-Arnold after the happy victory.
The upcoming opponents of the star ensemble, considered to be one of the favorites, are the Netherlands on Wednesday (9 pm) in Dortmund, who beat Turkey 2-1 in the evening.
For the Swiss, however, the dream of a historic coup and first place in the round of the last four teams at the European Championship is over. After strong performances in the group stage so far and the decisive round of 16 victory over Italy (2-0), coach Murat Yakin’s team, which was made up of many Bundesliga professionals, was unlucky. “We fought and did everything we could to make sure the fairy tale continued. We were close, but in the end the English had better nerves,” said offensive player Xherdan Shaqiri.
In his 100th game in the England dugout, Southgate again refrained from testing the starting line – despite the many critical voices about his almost unchanged personnel selection in recent lackluster games. But due to the guest of honor Prince William and the many English fans, the coach’s trust in his regular team failed to pay off again.
This time the team was more concerned with control and speed, but far too rarely used their offensive potential. In every attempt to unravel the well organized opposition defence, there was again a lack of ideas and penetration.
Because the Confederates turned out to be the opponents expecting uncomfortable. According to the motto of their coach Yakin shortly before the start – “We don’t experience this as often as a small country, we want to enjoy it” – they played relaxed. Interrupted by short periods of pressure from the English, they never lost order.
The spectators did not see any very strong scoring opportunities in the first half. The Swiss only came close to taking the lead with a cross from Ruben Vargas (9th), which Dan Ndoye almost missed. On the other hand, two shots from Kobbie Mainoo (16th/44th) were blocked in need.
The only asset of the English attack was the dribbling artist Bukayo Saka, whose passes from the outside line into the opponent’s penalty area rarely found a receiver.
The first shot on one of the two goals came after the break. But Swiss striker Breel Embolo’s close-range effort in the 51st minute caused no problems for England keeper Pickford.
However, this brief excitement did little to change the sadness. Both teams continued to shy away from taking risks and limited themselves to some offensive actions. If anything, it was the Swiss who made their luck.
And the Swiss were rewarded. After Ndoye’s cross, ex-Scalke and Mönchengladbacher Embolo was there and pushed the ball over the line from close range.
This beat brought life to life. It didn’t take long for the English to respond. England’s first shot on goal from Saka, assisted by the inside post, gave the equalizer – and added time.
England’s Declan Rice then tested Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer first with a powerful shot from distance (95th). Shortly before the end of extra time, substitute Shaqiri hit the aluminum with a direct corner kick (117′). The Swiss kept up the pressure, but did not score a goal in extra time. The English had the better nerves in the penalty.