- England beat Switzerland 5-3 on penalties in their Euro 2024 quarter-final
- The press in Switzerland claimed England rode their luck on Saturday night
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: Why Southgate is talking ‘nonsense’ about England’s Euro 2024 draw
The press in Switzerland have claimed England were lucky to progress in their Euro 2024 quarter-final on Saturday.
The Three Lions edged past Switzerland on penalties on a dramatic evening in Dusseldorf, with Gareth Southgate‘s side again showing all of their spirit to get to the next round.
Having gone 1-0 behind following Breel Embolo’s opener, Saka dragged England back into the game with a stunning individual effort in the 80th minute.
The quarter-final clash went to extra time and penalties where the Three Lions tucked home all five of their spot kicks, while Jordan Pickford saved Manuel Akanji’s effort to ensure Southgate’s side progressed 5-3.
And, following the clash, the reaction in Switzerland was one of frustration.
Along with the accusations of luck, their media claimed that their side outperformed most of the Three Lions man-for-man across the pitch, with certain Premier League stars having peripheral roles in the clash.
Meanwhile, in his latest op-ed, Blick’s chief football correspondent, Christian Finkbeiner, bemoaned the result, saying ‘England were the luckier team but not the better team’.
Finkbeiner rued the misfortune of Swiss players, too, including Zeki Amdouni and Silvan Widmer, who spurned chances towards the end of the clash.
The game, he says, was ‘characterised by caution and tactics’.
The Swiss press had reached for similar hubris in other articles, claiming their national side to be the dominant team through the match.
One journalist wrote: ‘Harry Kane [had] no chance against Akanji’, and that Xhaka and Remo Freuler were ‘really strong’ in midfield.
They even went as far to say that Fabian Schar ‘relegated’ Phil Foden to the role ‘of an extra’, and that Jude Bellingham was hapless against the ‘indestructible’ Ricardo Rodriguez.
However, Swiss daily national Blick said that while ‘inconsistent’ may be the word that typifies England’s performances across Euro 2024, their win over Switzerland was far from ‘luck’ when Pickford dived the right way to save Akanji’s tame spot-kick.
Meanwhile, when reflecting on his penalty miss, Akanji said: ‘When you miss and are then eliminated because of it, you feel like you’ve let everyone down.
‘It hurts! It will definitely take a few days to digest.’
England advanced to the semi-final against the Netherlands, which kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday, in Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park.