By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp
Switzerland beat England 5-3 on penalties in Saturday's EURO 2024 quarterfinal clash to reach the semifinals. Regular and extra time had ended with 1-1 draw.
Both teams played defensive in the first half at Dusseldorf Arena, as none of them could make an accurate shot for a goal.
After putting a more dominating display in the second half, Switzerland brought the lead with forward Breel Embolo's lethal touch in the 77th minute.
England responded in kind rather quickly as forward Bukayo Saka's low drive from outside of the box to the bottom left corner went past Swiss goalie, just five minutes after the first goal.
Switzerland wasted several scoring chances, even midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri's scoring attempt hit the crossbar in the extra time.
But England prevailed in the end as Swiss defender Manuel Akanji missed the first penalty in the shootout.
England will take on the winner of Saturday's other quarterfinal clash between Türkiye and the Netherlands.