Bukayo Saka the star as England come back from a goal down to beat Switzerland on penalties

England 1, Switzerland 1 (England win 5-3 on penalties, Euro 2024 Quarter Final)

England once again had to dig deep to beat Switzerland on penalties to secure a semi-final place at Euro 2024.

And they needed a stunning goal from Bukayo Saka to cancel out a late opener from Breel Embolo to once again keep England in the tournament before the winning the inevitable penalty shootout after Manuel Akanji missed his spot kick.

Boss Gareth Southgate was proud of his players on a tricky night.

He said: “I thought we played well all night

“We had to be so good without the ball, Switzerland are a good team and we had to defend with real discipline.

“We changed system to get pressure higher up the pitch but there are times when you can’t go.

“With Bukayo we knew we had a one-on-one advantage on that side of the pitch, and he kept delivering.

“We showed the patience to keep probing and trying to tire the opposition but we also showed other qualities of character that we need to win in this tournament.

“It’s not just about playing well.”

Breel Embolo had put the Swiss ahead with just 15 minutes of normal time to go but Bukayo Saka swooped in to rescue Gareth Southgate’s side 5 minutes later with a low strike to level the scores.

And after a tense extra time period it came down to the dreaded penalties again on Southgate’s 100th game in charge of England.

But this time the pressure was not allowed to build on England’s spot kick takers after Manchester City’s Swiss defender Manuel Akanji’s tame effort was saved by Jordan Pickford.

Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Saka, and Ivan Toney all hit unerring penalties – with Toney’s especially eye-catching effort notable as he never took his eye off Swiss ‘keeper Yann Sommer as he smashed in his – before Trent Alexander Arnold made it 5 faultless penalties for England.

England captain Harry Kane had been substituted by the time penalties came round, already nursing a back injury he has looked relatively immobile and a shadow of his usual self and after taking a tumble into the technical area next to Southgate, was subbed off once again.

Southgate already has a choice to make, with Marc Guehi available once again after serving a one match ban – his replacement Ezri Konsa did well his stead in an England side made only just that one change for this game.