As if to sum up the weirdness of this England team stumbling into the semi-finals of Euro 2024, perhaps the only time they looked in control against Switzerland was when it went to penalties. Before then? Choked play in the final third, chaotic defending in extra time and touchline inertia were the overriding themes – or at least they would have been had another moment of individual brilliance, this time from the magnificent Bukayo Saka, not saved Gareth Southgate again.
Switzerland had England on the ropes when Breel Embolo made it 1-0 after 75 minutes. Murat Yakin’s team were dominant for much of the second half, raising the prospect of Southgate’s 100th game in charge being his last. His decisions had not worked – again. Harry Kane was off the pace – again. It was reactive from Southgate when he introduced Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Luke Shaw with 12 minutes left – again.
Logic suggests England should be out. The reality is they forced extra time when Saka, with their first shot on target, made it 1-1 out of nothing. They scrapped from there, with Shaw defiant on his first appearance in five months. Eze, out of position at left wing-back, would also impress. That said, England were hanging on at the end. Xherdan Shaqiri hit the angle of post and bar with a corner. Jordan Pickford made an excellent save from Zeki Amdouni.
England have been baffling during these Euros, with Kieran Trippier chugging away on the left and Phil Foden struggling to reproduce his club form, but here they are. For all that Southgate has seemed to be making it up as he goes along, some elements of his process-driven management remain intact. All those hours devoted to studying the psychology of penalty shootouts, of working out how to banish the demons and remove the random factor, paid off.
It was Switzerland, who have lost five of their six shootouts, who cracked; the outstanding Manuel Akanji who saw the crucial kick saved by Pickford; Southgate who keeps defying the narrative around English football.
