England reach Euro 2024 semi-finals after scraping past Switzerland on penalties

They have saved their shots on target in Germany for when they have needed them, with Bukayo Saka’s leveller ten minutes from the end of normal time emulating Jude Bellingham’s Slovakian heroics by providing a goal from England’s first shot on target.

It was ultimately enough to send this gruelling quarter final the distance, with Gareth Southgate’s charges surviving a ropey extra-time period to emerge triumphantly from a penalty shootout with Cole Palmer, Bellingham, Saka, Ivan Toney and shootout influenced sub Trent Alexander-Arnold all holding their nerve when it mattered, thus meaning that Jordan Pickford’s opening stop from Manuel Akanji was enough to secure progression.

England fans roar after quarter-final win on penalties

For Saka, it was a nice moment, considering that his miss at Wembley in the 2021 final has haunted him. England will now feel they have a genuine opportunity to return to the showpiece.

They don’t look like tournament winners but they keep inching ever closer to that scenario, with their overall performance in Dusseldorf representing only a minor step forward from their previous four games.

At the end of extra-time, an ageing Switzerland looked like the superior force, a role reversal from the opening exchanges of this tepid encounter, but they will pack their bags this morning while England roll onto Dortmund.

Their dramatic method of progression prompted scenes of jubilation, as it always does, although the non-partisan purists will not be enthused about it.

Mind you, Switzerland didn’t show enough to suggest they would have enriched the conclusion of the competition either.

England had set the bar low for public approval.

The absence of booing from their supporters at the half-time interval was flagged as progress, but the almost deathly silence that greeted the whistle told its own story.

The speculation during the week that England would switch to a back three was accurate, although the detail within it varied slightly with Saka retained on the right and Kieran Trippier remaining on the left.

Personnel wise, the only change was Ezri Konsa stepping for Marc Guehi, but the impact of the formation switch was initially obvious with England able to flood the centre in greater numbers with Bellingham and Phil Foden interchanging around Harry Kane with Koibee Mainoo looking to drive forward from deep.

Saka and Trippier were pressed high up from the early minutes, and Switzerland never really showed the ambition to test England out of possession. Most of the game was played just inside the Swiss half, with the absence of a meaningful shot from either side before the interval sadly reflective of the entertainment level. Saka was winning his personal battle with Michel Aebischer, a threat going forward for the Swiss in previous games who was pegged back and looked vulnerable when the Arsenal player got at him around the penalty box.

Switzerland needed the half-time refresher, and resumed like a team with a greater purpose. There was nothing revolutionary around their improvement; they tried to move the ball from back to front quicker to take England out of their comfort zone, targeting a space behind Kyle Walker that allowed them to get bodies forward.

Once England encountered some difficulty, belief levels seemed to drain. Minutes meandered by without much happening, yet there was a niggling sense that the pendulum was swinging in favour of a Swiss side targeting a first ever major tournament semi.

Coach Murat Yakin made a pair of changes in this period, bringing in another duo of thirty somethings, Steven Zuber and Silvan Vidmer, to supplement his already experienced starting team - there were eight in that bracket on the pitch at a later stage.

Zuber’s movement began to expose flaws in the English set-up and the newcomers played their part in the 77th minute lead goal, with Breel Embolo slipping to the far post to convert a deflected cross from Dan Ndoye with Kyle Walker left with his arm in the air calling for a non-existent offside.

Necessity demanded a response from the English sideline, a treble switch that brought in Luke Shaw, Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze and a more attacking outlook. The leveller quickly followed, but it would be a stretch to link it with the changes.

Instead, it highlighted the value of possessing elite level performers in your squad and the dangers of giving them time and space with Switzerland allowing Saka to cut inside and unleash a left footer that gave the neutrals an extra 30 minutes they may not have wanted.

Declan Rice calling Yann Sommer into action at the beginning of it was deceptive. Thrills and spills were not on the menu, although Kane’s comedy fall into Southgate and the bench ruled him out of the finale.

It was Switzerland that were asking a few more questions at the very end, but their execution let them down, although Xherdan Shaqiri was unlucky with a cheeky shot from a corner that came back off the post - Pickford acknowledged afterwards that he had got away with one.

Overall, though, there was a tired inevitability around where this evening was going. England’s march towards Berlin could be filed under the same heading.