England qualified for the Euro 2024 semi-finals after beating Switzerland on penalties.
The tense game ended 1-1 after extra time, with both sides unable to break the deadlock.
England then faced a penalty shootout without their captain and penalty taker Harry Kane, who was replaced by Ivan Toney in the second half of extra time.
There was no need for English fans to panic as Gareth SouthgateThe team scored all five penalties.
After Cole Palmer went forward first and scored for England, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford helped the team gain the lead in the penalty shootout by saving Manuel Akanji’s shot.
England’s Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Ivan Toney followed suit with three more goals, letting Trent Alexander-Arnold coolly score the fifth.
England’s winning penalty. Photo: Reuters
The triumphant display came three years after England lost the Euro 2020 title when they lost on penalties to Italy.
O Prince of Wales was among the fans cheering on England at the Dusseldorf Arena and could be seen out of his seat and punching the air after the 80th-minute equaliser.
England will play the semi-final on Wednesday and face either the Netherlands or Turkey.
Prince William joined other English fans in jumping out of his seat during some tense moments of the game. Photo: PA
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The match saw Switzerland lead 1-0 after 75 minutes after a goal from Breel Embolo – but England leveled the scores just five minutes later with a goal from Saka.
For the second match in a row, England faced extra time.
Bukayo Saka scored in the 80th minute. Photo: Reuters
Saka scored for England in the second half before becoming one of five penalty takers. Photo: Reuters
Declan Rice came close to giving them the lead five minutes into the extra half-hour, but his long-range effort was deflected onto the post by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
England’s comeback in the quarter-finals comes after they were almost eliminated from the tournament last Sunday after losing 1-0 to Slovakia – until Jude Bellingham scored an impressive equalizer with seconds to spare.
Harry Kane scored the winner just minutes into the first half of extra time, and Southgate’s team held on despite some tense moments.
The English team celebrates after Saka’s equalizer. Photo: Reuters
The game marked Southgate’s 100th command – although he downplayed the landmark before kickoff.
The England team faced criticism for putting in underwhelming performances at Euro 2024, but Southgate insisted the players were “in a different place mentally” before today’s game.
England’s journey to the round of 16 was far from convincing and although they finished top of Group CEngland won just one of their three group stage games – beating Serbia 1-0, before drawing with Denmark and Slovenia.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
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