Jan Hoeksema
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England qualified for the semi-finals of the European Championship after a penalty shootout against Switzerland. In 120 minutes of football, neither team could make the difference, after which the score was 1-1 and a penalty shootout was needed to decide who would score. England were better by eleven meters (5-3) and will face the winner of the Netherlands-Turkey match in the semi-finals.
Gareth Southgate was forced to make one change to England's starting line-up. Marc Guehi picked up a yellow card in the eighth final against Slovakia and was suspended. Ezri Konsa was the logical replacement. It started further The Three Lions For the first time this tournament they played with a 3-4-2-1 system, having previously played with four defenders. Saka, who English media reported as playing as a left-back, was positioned on the right.
In Switzerland, there was not much to do about the starting lineup. National coach Murat Yakin sent the same eleven names out on the pitch as against Italy (2-0). This meant starting places for former PSV player Ricardo Rodriguez and Breel Embolo, among others.
The first half of the match was in keeping with the course of the English championship so far. The play was not brilliant from either side and chances were few and far between, with not a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes.
Ruben Vargas, among others, created a small danger, but the Swiss midfielder saw Dan N'Doye unable to reach his cross. England's most dangerous moment came after a beautiful dribble from Bukayo Saka. The Arsenal forward played the ball to Kobe Mainoo, but his shot was quickly blocked.
The match was a bit tense at the start of the second half. The first shot on target came in the 51st minute and it was a great chance straight away. Embolo was played into the opposition penalty area, created space for himself by running away and trying. But his effort was too weak and went past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Shortly afterwards, Embolo had a second chance. A cross from the left flew towards him but Konsa made life so difficult for the striker that Embolo could not get a serious shot on. Pickford caught it easily.
Fifteen minutes from time, the blockade was broken and it was Switzerland who took the lead. It wasn't the first time that Ndoye had come in from the right. He got to the end line, where he sent a low, sharp cross to Embolo. On the way to the striker, John Stones got a touch, but he couldn't prevent Embolo from reaching the far post, where he scored: 0-1.
Switzerland's goal??! 75' Breel Embolo England 0-1 Switzerland Watch the match live on: https://t.co/XotUctCEHs#Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/zEZ28rjLob
– NOS Football (@NOSfootball) July 6, 2024
After conceding the goals, England had to force something, and to do that Southgate made three substitutions, including Luke Shaw, who had come on for the opening minutes of the tournament. The intervention seemed to have an effect, as England joined in less than two minutes later.
Saka was played in by Declan Rice on the right. The winger cut inside and had space to attack with his powerful left foot. His low effort headed towards the far bottom corner, where the ball ended up across the post and into the net: 1-1.
England's goal??! 80' Bukayo Saka England 1-1 Switzerland Watch the match live on: https://t.co/XotUctCEHs#Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/LjacD4MVsh
– NOS Football (@NOSfootball) July 6, 2024
It seems that the goal he scored was what the English needed, because even after the equaliser The Three Lions Dangerous. This was partly caused by Harry Kane, who played an invisible game and also failed to make his mark in the final stage. After ninety minutes the score was level on the scoreboard and the two teams went to extra time.
After the short break came England's first danger. Rice tried from distance in the 96th minute but his effort flew into the right corner. Yann Sommer stretched to full length and missed the chance for a corner.
Switzerland also came into extra time, which was fairly open for a long time, but in which the Alpine nation had the best chances. A low cross from the right was barely cleared by an Englishman, before a few moments later Fabian Schar fired home a powerful shot from the second line. Shortly afterwards, substitute Sylvain Widmer scored the winner from close range, but there were no more goals. Penalties had to make the difference.
In the penalty shootout, Manuel Akanji missed the first penalty kick for his team and Switzerland was unable to recover from that miss. England thus qualified for the semi-finals, where they will meet the winner of the match between the Netherlands and Turkey.
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