Bukayo Saka the Hero as England Beat Switzerland on Penalties
England are on to the Semifinals of the 2024 Euro with a win over Switzerland. Coming into the game, England had been playing poorly and just about getting by. They were seconds away from crashing out in the Round of 16 against Slovakia before a Jude Bellingham bicycle kick saved their tournament. They just seem to keep on going.
England had to be resilient, but they improved. I have written about England quite a bit over the past month, and have begged for changes in each instance. Changes finally came today. Perhaps it was to match up man-for-man with Switzerland’s 3-4-3 formation, but Gareth Southgate got more out of his players today. The one who he got the most out of was Bukayo Saka, who has been one of England’s few consistently good performers this tournament. After England went behind in the 75th minute on a Breel Embolo back post finish, Saka put the team on his back again, scoring a beautiful low curler from the edge of the 18-yard box in the 80th minute.
When the game went to penalties, England were resolute. Cole Palmer, Bellingham, Saka, Ivan Toney, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all scored confidently. The shootout was decided by Jordan Pickford’s save of a weak Manuel Akanji penalty kick. England continues to exorcize the demons of past penalty shootouts at major tournaments. They have Pickford to thank for that, as well as some confident shooters. All five never looked like missing, and this was with Harry Kane out of the game. Alexander-Arnold came into the game cold, with five minutes to go but it didn’t matter.
It has to be said, today was a massive win for Gareth Southgate in particular. It’s another Semifinal appearance at a major tournament, making him three for four in getting to the final four of major tournaments. No small achievement. He has made England a force to be reckoned with on penalties, and he showed some tactical know-how by changing the formation up for England. They switched to a 3-4-2-1, getting more out of Saka, Phil Foden, and Bellingham.
On the subject of Phil Foden, this formational change was to accommodate him. He was better and more involved today, but still not up to the highest level. Again, it was mostly Saka attacking on his own today, and that seemed to be enough. Southgate should consider whether or not Foden should keep his place against the Netherlands. Palmer and Eberichi Eze have looked lively in cameo appearances.
Switzerland put up a valiant effort. I liked their chances a lot going into this match, and it was even the entire game, hence the penalty shootout. They have a lot to be proud of and should be able to make meaningful runs at upcoming tournaments. They play attractive football and have a real identity about them.
The Semifinals are set. England will face the Netherlands and Spain will face France. I like England’s chances a lot against the Netherlands, who are not a bad side. They just seem wasteful in attacks sometimes. England has more quality overall, but the Dutch are so effective when trailing in games and Wout Weghorst gets subbed on. He could be a handful to deal with when he makes his inevitable appearance.
