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Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane helped England overcome Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-final (Image: Getty)
England face the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-finals next week having banished their penalty demons against Switzerland. Bukayo Saka, who missed in the Euro 2020 shootout, was one of the five Three Lions players to score clinically from the spot.
It was not the perfect performance against the Swiss and England once again relied on individual quality to bail them out. Saka’s excellent strike after cutting inside from the right was one of few highlights in the 1-1 draw in normal time.
England will not care how they win, especially if they go on to lift the men’s European Championship for the first time. The Dutch were also underwhelming in their 2-1 win over Turkey last night.
Lok back on all the Euro 2024 news we brought you on Sunday in our LIVE blog, below…
The Three Lions are among the favourites to win this summer's Euro 2024 tournament and you can get your hands on the brand new Nike home and away kits before the first whistle.
England fans could be outnumbered by two to one during Wednesday night’s Euro semi-final in Dortmund.
According to reports, more than 80,000 Dutch supporters expected to descend on the city, due to the proximity of the country and train ticket prices of just 25 euros (£21).
Around 40,000 England fans are expected, although only half of them will have tickets to watch in the 62,000-capacity BVB Stadion.
Holland fans are expected to descend on Dortmund. (Image: Getty)
Ronald Koeman calls out one of his key Netherlands stars ahead of England clash
Ronald Koeman has admitted he wasn't sure what defender Dezel Dumfries was doing when he allowed the ball to run for a corner against Turkey, leading to Samet Akaydin's opener.
"I thought what is Denzel Dumfries doing?" said the manager. "I wondered why he didn't hold the ball."
But he aslso defended the player, adding: "But if we had more with such a big heart as Denzel, we would be even better. With a bit of luck at the end, we pulled the victory over the line."
French vice-captain Antoine Griezmann is set to be dropped from their semi-final clash with Spain.
L'Equipe are reporting that despite starting the forward in four of the five games, Didier Deschamps has grown tired of the player's lack of tournament impact. He's yet to register a goal or an assist.
Spanish star Pedri has accepted the Instagram apology of Toni Kroos after the tackle which ended his tournament.
On social media, Pedri wrote: "“Thank you Toni Kroos for your message. This is soccer and these things happen. Your career and your record remain forever.”
England appeared to use a 'buddy' system during the penalty shootout against Switzerland.
Before spot-kicks, Gareth Southgate was in discussions with Declan Rice, Luke Shaw, Kyle Walker and John Stones.Each then appeared to offer support to one of the takers.
Geir Jordet, author of the book Pressure: Lessons From The Psychology Of The Penalty Shootout, has commented: “They’ve invented a way to approach this individual event as a collective, team event.
“They have a structure for preventing the players from going at this alone. A support structure takes down the pressure just a little bit.”
England players celebrate their shootout win. (Image: Getty)
The BBC have confirmed England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final victory against Switzerland on Saturday was watched by a peak audience of 16.8 million people.
But that fell short of the highest peak audience during England's Euro 2024 campaign so far. That was 18.4 million for their extra-time victory against Slovakia in the last-16, a game shown on ITV.
De Telegraaf’s Marcel van der Kraan has savaged England's players after their win over Switzerland.
“For 75 minutes, England v Switzerland looked more like a William Shakespeare tragedy than a tough battle for a place in the European Championship semi-finals,” he wrote. “The English, with their abundance of talent and quality, did not provide any entertainment."
Spain’s Marca newspaper added: “Jude Bellingham is exhausted and if the helmsman does not pull the cart, the cart will not go forward.
“Jude had his first significant action in the 31st minute, when he forced (Fabian) Schar to receive a yellow card. Before and after that, he did little, like the rest of his team.”
Gareth Southgate shuts down journalist's question at Euro 2024
Gareth Southgate shut down a German journalist after leading his side into the Euro 2024 semi-finals on Saturday night.
The Three Lions were then accused by the reporter of being given “easy runs” at major tournaments.
They claimed that England even came up against a “poor” Germany team which they beat 2-0 in Euro 2020.
Southgate responded to that point by saying: Yeah, but I am saying they had about eight Champions League winners in that squad.”
When the journalist continued to list nations beaten by England at tournaments, Southgate added: “Look, the teams we've played are because we won our group.
“If you go back through history, England had different routes to the final because we didn't win our group. I understand of course, you'd rather not have to jump the Grand National to win the tournament.
“Most teams, when you have back-to-back games - two, three, four games against big nations - the margins are so fine and then those games end up quite even. You win one, you lose one - so it's very tough to go through those processes.
“I'm not really sure what to say, it's the madness of this job - but it's been an enjoyable night and I will try to keep it that way.”
Bukayo Saka exorcised his penalty demons against Switzerland.
Having missed a crucial spot-kick in the Euro 2020 final against Italy three years ago, the Arsenal winger coolly converted this time around, helping England into the Euro 2024 semi-final.
Saka felt little pressure stepping up despite his previous penalty woes.
“I think for me it’s something I embrace,” the 22-year-old said afterwards.
“You can fail once but you have a choice whether you put yourself in that position again or not. I’m a guy who is going to put myself in that position. I believed in myself.
“When I saw the ball hit the net, I was a very happy man. I’m not going to be focusing on the past. That’s done. I can only focus on now and taking a penalty.
“Of course I know there’s a lot of nervous people watching, my family included and in the crowd. But I kept my cool and I scored.”
Bukayo Saka has reflected on his England penalty heroics (Image: Getty)
Harry Kane insists he is ‘fine’ despite appearing hurt after clattering into the dugout during England’s win over Switzerland.
The captain was involved in an awkward incident in which he was nudged off the pitch and collided into Gareth Southgate before tripping over a stack of containers.
Kane says he is okay after being replaced by Ivan Toney.
He said: "I’m fine, I’m fine. I had a bit of cramp there. The boss made a quick decision with Ivan being a proven penalty-taker."
Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji shared that England stars who he had never even played with came to console him over his missed penalty.
The Man City star had a crucial spot-kick saved by Jordan Pickford.
England scored all five penalties to go through to the Euro 2024 semi-final.
"Even players I’ve never played with came to speak to me afterwards," Akanji said. "I tried to say something back but the mood wasn’t the right one.
"I wish them good luck for the tournament and I hope my Manchester City team-mates stay healthy. That’s the most important thing, and we’ll see how far they go."
Gareth Southgate is angry that England’s team selections have been leaked several days before matches.
It was widely reported in the media that Southgate was set to switch to a 3-4-2-1 formation ahead of the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland.
“We do a lot of things. As I said, we’ve won three out of four and a lot of our processes have been shared,” Southgate said after England advanced to the semi-final.
“Our tactical plan for the game was also shared three days before.
"We live in an amazing world where it’s so difficult for us because any element of surprise you might have with the opponent is gone three days before. It’s quite incredible really.”
Gareth Southgate has grown frustrated over England team leaks (Image: Getty)
England star 'didn't want to take' Euro 2024 penalty
Trent Alexander-Arnold has inadvertently revealed that an unnamed England star did not want to take a penalty against Switzerland.
The Three Lions player scored the winning spot-kick in the 5-3 shootout victory.
However, in footage captured after the game, Alexander-Arnold seemed to reveal to his close friends and family that one player wanted to dodge stepping up during the tense shooutout.
"He didn't want to take one," the 25-year-old is heard saying.
It is unclear which player he is talking about.
Alexander-Arnold scored after Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Ivan Toney and Bukayo Saka all converted from the spot.
Ivan Toney has laid down the gauntlet to Harry Kane after impressing in an England cameo against Switzerland.
The Brentford striker replaced Kane in extra-time after the Three Lions captain suffered cramp having collided with the dugout.
Toney says he is ‘impatient’ for an opportunity and insists his time to make a proper impact at the tournament is coming.
"I’m very impatient," said Toney. "But I’ve had to be patient during this tournament.
“I know my time will come, whether that’s coming off the bench, starting or taking a penalty. I’ve just got to be ready for the time. I'm happy to play my part and patience is key."
Ivan Toney scored his penalty in England's shootout win (Image: Getty)
Hello and welcome to coverage of the latest Euro 2024 news.
We'll have the very best reaction from England's win last night, look ahead to the semi-final next Wednesday, and take in everything else inbetween.
Stay tuned!
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