England snatched their qualification for the semi-finals of Euro 2024 against Switzerland, this Saturday, July 6 in Düsseldorf (1-1, 5-3 pen). Boredom lurked, but ultimately moved away in a match that unraveled in the second half, before a penalty shootout in the form of revenge for England, who had suffered so much from the failure of their young shooters in the exercise.
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England continue on their path to the final, with the same recipe that almost made them successful in the previous edition of the Euro. Against Switzerland, in the quarter-finals, this Saturday, the Three Lions fielded a rich eleven, which would make many selectors dream, without splashing the field with technique and class. But Gareth Southgate’s men did the job. Thanks to a victory on penalties that has a taste of revenge, they will be in the semi-finals of the Euro, to the detriment of the Nati.
The first act of this quarter-final gave us a concentrated version of what the knockout matches of this Euro 2024 look like. Two great teams on paper, individuals like Jude Bellingham or Bukayo Saka supposed to make the difference individually, in the absence of being surrounded by a prolific collective structure, and in the end, pschitt. Saka was lively, Bellingham tried. Thanks to their efforts, the game was much less boring than the dismal Portugal-France on Friday, but the result is there: at half-time, not a single shot on target. The accelerations always came up against the opposing defenses.
After the break, the 22 players tried to write a different story, to avoid turning a prestigious match into boredom. In the first minute, Bellingham broke the opposing midfield with a ball and narrowly missed serving Harry Kane in the heart of the area. To answer him, a few minutes later, Breel Embolo, after turning in the area, scored the first shot on target of the match to be credited to Switzerland, caught by the gloves of Jordan Pickford.
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Embolo the miraculous, Saka miraculous
It took a little longer, but the match got going. Breel Embolo took advantage of a strong cross on the ground in the English defense, slightly deflected by a British foot, to conclude from close range (75th), freed from the marking of Kyle Walker. He who had only played five poor Ligue 1 matches this season, due to a nasty knee injury, whose selection was not certain a month ago, delivered the Nati. The red massively displayed by the Swiss supporters in one of the corners of the Merkul Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, which was starting to fade, became incandescent.
But only for a few moments. Since Saka came to cool the atmosphere, or to warm it up, it all depended on which stand you were watching the match from. The young lion took his responsibilities: from the right side, he went around the defense and armed from afar to curl a shot with his left foot, which hit the post before dying in the net. Finally, this match had given birth to a scenario. That of a film of at least 120 minutes, since at the final whistle, the score of 1-1 condemned the game to extra time.
Revenge of the Young English Guard
The changes made by Gareth Soutgate then brought some freshness. Especially Cole Palmer, who replaced Ezri Konsa in the 78th. The young Chelsea player gave the Swiss defense a headache. Finally, two big thrills before the two-hour mark: a huge strike from Declan Rice from almost 30 meters out that forced Sommer into a spectacular horizontal release (96th) and an attempt at a corner from Xherdan Shaqiri that failed on the right side of Pickford’s goal (116th).
The last time the Three Lions went to a penalty shootout at the Euros was in the final against Italy four years ago. The failures of the young players in the exercise had doomed the England team. This time again, the young guard showed up and they did not fail. Palmer, 22, did not falter to score the first penalty. Then Bellingham, 21, showed composure to score the second. Finally, Saka, 22, who had failed in 2020 and suffered a barrage of racist abuse afterwards, was surgical. A save from Pickford sealed the fate of the match. England, like many of the favourites at this Euro, did not shine. But England, like few of the other favourites at this Euro, can claim to be in the next round.