It is the European version of zombie soccer. England succeeded in surviving somehow this time as well.
England won 5-3 in the penalty shootout after drawing 1-1 with Switzerland in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Euro 2024 at Düsseldorf Arena in Germany on the 7th (Korea Standard Time).
Thanks to the team’s poor performance, the team has advanced to the semifinals for two consecutive tournaments. Switzerland beat Italy, the defending champion, in the round of 16, but failed to surpass England, the runner-up team of the last tournament.
England operated a 3-4-2-1 formation. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham-Phil Foden, Kieran Trippier-Declan Rice-Kobe Mainu-Bukayo Saka, Ezri Konsa-John Stones-Kyle Walker, and Jordan Pickford were among the first.
Switzerland also opted for a 3-4-2-1 formation. Brehl Embolo, Ruben Vargas – Fabian Leader, Michel Ebischer – Granit Xhaka – Remo Freiler – Dan Ndoye, Ricardo Rodriguez – Manuel Akanji – Fabian Cher and Jan Zommer were among the starters.
England has received a lot of criticism throughout the tournament. It had no win despite its luxurious squad. It had one win and two draws in the group league, but only had two goals in three matches. The performance did not live up to its reputation as a favorite.
퀸알바 The tournament also remained unchanged. England was dragged helplessly by Slovakia in the round of 16 before Bellingham’s theatrical equalizer that came right before the end of the match. Then, the team won 2-1 thanks to Kane’s come-from-behind goal in the extra time. England recorded only two shots on goal in the 120 minutes.
Gareth Southgate, England’s manager, decided that a change was needed. He pulled out a three-back against Switzerland. However, he never saw England overwhelm the opponent again on the day.
England had failed to seize the opportunity as it was lagging behind Switzerland’s active players from the first half. The team edged ahead in market share, but it did not mean much. The two teams failed to make any shots on goal during the first 45 minutes. In terms of expected score (xG), England only 0.28 and Switzerland only 0.08.
Rather, Switzerland began to increase the number of shots in the second half. Switzerland also scored the first goal. In the 30th minute of the second half, Ndoi crossed a ground ball in front of the goal, and Embolo finished it with his feet and shook the net.
England is in crisis. This time, Saka has emerged as a hero. At the 35th minute in the second half, Saka swung his right foot and kicked a fantastic left-footed drive to poke right into the corner of the goal. Both teams ended the regular season with a score of 1-1, going into extra time.
The winner was not decided until the end of the 120th minute of extra time. England in the first half of extra time and Switzerland in the second half of extra time, but no winning goal came out. England was repeatedly blocked by Jomer’s good defense, and Switzerland swallowed the disappointment by Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner kick hitting the post.
England laughed at the penalty shootout by fate. They had mixed feelings at the first kicker. England took the lead when Cole Palmer calmly shook the net and Pickford blocked Akanji’s shot. Pickford’s “water bottle cheating paper,” which describes the opponent’s penalty kick habit, hit the bull’s eye again.
England then scored Bellingham, Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold to complete the 5-3 victory. England’s opponent in the semifinals is the Netherlands, which beat Turkiye. The two teams will face off on the 11th.
