Despite underperforming throughout the whole tournament, England defeated Switzerland to make their way into the semi-final of the UEFA Euros 2024.
The Three Lions have been criticised for their lack of potency in front of the goal, despite the wealth of talent in their squad. They took on the Swiss, who have played some of the best football in this competition, in Dusseldorf’s Merkur Spiel-Arena.
England Makes It To Semi-Finals Of Euros 2024
The first half of the England vs Switzerland game wasn’t too exciting, with both sides failing to create any good chances. The best of the first half was produced by England, as Bukayo Saka sent a pass to Kobbie Mainoo at the edge of the six-yard box, but the shot was defended by Granit Xhaka.
The game picked up significantly in the second half. While England had a few attempts on goal, it was Switzerland that dominated the attack in the second period. The consistent attacking came to fruition in the 75th minute, as a pass by Dan Ndoye was deflected by England’s John Stones and fell in the path of Breel Embolo, who gave the Swiss the lead with 15 minutes to go, 0-1.
But England responded soon after, as in the 80th minute, the team was saved by another flash of brilliance by a young player for a second game in a row. This time, it was Bukayo Saka, who cut in from wide and took a low shot from outside the box, which went on the right of keeper Yann Sommer and into the net, 1-1.
And that is how the 90 minutes ended, with the score being level. Out of the five matches England has played in UEFA Euros 2024 so far, they have failed to win in regulation time in four of them.
The first good crack at the goal in extra time was taken by Declan Rice, who rocketed the ball from 25 yards out and forced a save from Sommer.
Jude Bellingham, too, took a fine shot on target in the 102nd minute, only to be saved by the Swiss wall in front of the goal.
In the 113th minute, Silvan Widmar sent a great pass to Denis Zakaria in the six-yard box, only for it to be excellently defended by Luke Shaw.
Switzerland fell heavily on the English defence in the last few minutes as the 2020 Euros finalists fell back. But this was to no avail, as the game ended 1-1 and we went to penalties. This was the third game in UEFA Euro 2024 to go to penalties.
England’s Cole Palmer took the first shot and scored; his counterpart was Manuel Akanji, who missed Switzerland’s first penalty. Jude Bellingham and Fabian Schar scored the second shots for their respective teams. Bukayo Saka and Xherdan Shakiri scored the third, while Ivan Toney and Zeki Amdouni scored the fourth.
It came down to England’s final penalty, which would book them a place in the semi-finals. Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been criticised throughout the tournament, absolutely whipped it to his left and won his team the game.
This is England’s second Euro semi-final appearance in a row. And we now know that they will face the Netherlands in the final four. This is how the semi-finals of the UEFA Euros 2024 have shaped up:
- Spain vs France
- England vs Netherlands
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