Gareth Southgate’s side have made it to the last four after facing up to their dismal record from the spot and putting it right
England used to be so bad at penalties that Pizza Hut made an advert making fun of their torrid record from 12 yards that Gareth Southgate starred in. But now the Three Lions can claim to be spot-kick experts after showing nerves of steel to knock Switzerland out and reach the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
England produced their best display of the tournament in Dusseldorf, but still had to rely on a shootout to get through after drawing 1-1 with Switzerland after 120 tense minutes. And once more Southgate’s in-game management left a lot to be desired.
So it was fortunate that the manager could rely on a stellar performance from Bukayo Saka, who was outstanding for 120 minutes and produced two clinical moments, finding the equaliser and then scoring from the spot. His fellow takers also hit the net while Jordan Pickford played his part in the victory by psyching out Manuel Akanji.
England will play the Netherlands in the semi-finals for the right to take their place in the final in Berlin, but they have a real dilemma on their hands: what to do about the misfiring Harry Kane, who was missing in action once again.
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Getty ImagesWINNER: Jordan Pickford
It is no coincidence that of the three penalty shootouts England have won since 1996, Pickford has been the goalkeeper each time. The boy from Sunderland has changed the tide of history, helping his side win 75 percent of the shootouts he has been involved in. And it is worth remembering that even in the Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy, he kept out two of the five kicks he faced.
Pickford does not have a huge height advantage compared to some of his fellow shot-stoppers, but he more than compensates with his presence and mentality. He studies his opponents’ shooting habits diligently and set the tone with a superb stop from Akanji, guessing the right way and crucially getting down as low as possible.
This was Pickford’s best showing of the tournament even before the shootout, with him clawing away a thumping effort from Zeki Amdouni deep in extra-time. He has been exempt from the criticism aimed at many of his team-mates and here he became one of the heroes.
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Getty ImagesWINNER: Bukayo Saka
‘Star boy’ was what Rio Ferdinand kept shouting as he watched replays of Saka’s stunning equaliser in the BBC studio, and it was hard to disagree with the description. From the first minute of the game in Dusseldorf to his perfectly-placed penalty in the shootout after 120 minutes, Saka was the star of the show.
Like Jude Bellingham against Slovakia in the previous round, Saka’s brilliance had dug England out of a giant hole. But while Bellingham’s overhead-kick had come at the end of an abject performance from the Real Madrid man, Saka’s goal felt inevitable.
He had been threatening to score all game, giving Switzerland’s hapless left-back Michel Aebischer a harrowing evening. In the first half alone, he dribbled past him four times, more than any other player had achieved in 90 minutes at the tournament. Saka’s performance was all the more impressive given he last started as a wing-back more than three years ago.
And while the likes of Kane and Bellingham looked like spent forces in the extra period, he dug into his energy reserves, running back and making a crucial block.
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Getty ImagesLOSER: Southgate’s in-game management
Southgate was right to point out that he has taken England to three semi-finals at four major tournaments. It is a hugely impressive record, better than any other Three Lions manager. And it is all the more remarkable given how bad his in-game management is.
This was a much-improved performance on England’s turgid four previous matches at this Euros, but it was still a stalemate and Southgate appeared to be relaxed when the scores were level, taking no moves to try and get into the lead.
The manager finally showed some flexibility before the game when he changed England’s formation to match the Swiss’ 3-4-3 shape. But when coach Murat Yakin, a keen chess player, started making his moves, Southgate idly sat back, waiting to see what would happen.
Having been happy to soak up the pressure earlier on, Switzerland started playing on the front foot and took the game to England. Southgate, however, took no action until Breel Embolo had given the Swiss the lead. His eventual changes did lead to Saka’s equaliser, but once more in extra-time Southgate seemed happy to play for penalties and his substitutions seemed geared towards the shootout rather than trying to win the game.
This time those changes paid off as Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold scored from the spot where Jadon Sancho, Saka and Marcus Rashford had missed in Euro 2020, but it is highly concerning that Southgate was so keen to gamble on penalties. He might not be so lucky next time.
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Getty ImagesWINNER: England’s penalty takers
Every player in the squad would have been wary of England’s miserable record in shootouts. Three out of the five takers were at Wembley for the agonising defeat by Italy, and Saka was one of the players who missed, suffering abhorrent online racist abuse afterwards.
But all five players did not just score here, they looked utterly assured when they stepped up and dispatched their attempts with conviction, giving the hugely experienced Yann Sommer no chance.
Cole Palmer showed no nerves when he took the first penalty, continuing his 100% record from the spot by burying the ball in the bottom corner, deceiving Sommer in the process. Bellingham also sent Sommer the wrong way, while Toney was so confident he didn’t even look at the ball. As it turned out, Sommer almost reached his kick, but it had just too much power.
Saka was equally cool despite everything he had been through before in the same situation three years go and Alexander-Arnold, who, like Toney, had been brought on purely to take a penalty, took the best of them all, ripping his shot into the top corner. This was a masterclass in penalty-taking, and it was delivered by England. Let that sink in.
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Getty ImagesLOSER: Harry Kane
Something most unexpected happened in the 109th minute: Gareth Southgate took off Harry Kane. Perhaps the fact that the captain had just crashed into the manager and then tripped over a box played a part in the decision. It was not exactly ideal preparation for taking a penalty in the looming shootout.
But the truth is Kane had long ceased to be useful. In his time on the pitch he took just 26 touches, fewer than England’s three substitutes before extra-time and almost half as many as Pickford. He did not compensate for his lack of involvement by getting in good shooting positions and he barely gave Saka, Kieran Trippier or Foden anything to aim at. He had two shots, one missing the target and the other being blocked.
Kane’s best contribution was in defence when he robbed Dan Ndoye on the edge of the area. He was still keen to do media duties despite his drab performance, perhaps to make sure everyone knew he was not badly hurt by his fall and was ready for the semi-final. At this stage, England would genuinely be better off without him.
Source Goal.com
