England can win on penalties and that is fact. It is time to give England credit for what they can do, and winning is the most important factor in the game.
England can win on penalties
England have existed in moments of brilliance in Germany. That has allowed strength of character to see them through.
Against Switzerland it was Saka, England’s best player on the day, who produced the goods by cutting in from the right to send a low drive past the Swiss Keeper and then casually walked up to the penalty spot, grabbed a coffee on the way and just put the penalty away like he was playing in the park.
It happened when Bellingham produced a stunning overhead kick against Slovakia and if you are resilient and compact as a team, these moments win you matches and fingers crossed, tournaments.
And as millions of jubilant fans saw yesterday England can win on penalties in fact there were five flawless penalties, it was perfection.
After all the years of heartache it feels wonderful to get this off our chests.
The Euros have been all about Penalties
The European championships have been cagey – defences and formations are solid, chances are scarce and non of the teams have played like a premier league team, because that isn’t realistic.
England’s Euro 2024 side looked at their most composed and in control during this game. They did go behind but they never looked like losing this game.
Five flawless penalties
For all their misfiring so far, Southgate’s team have the capacity for individual brilliance bolted on to in-built resilience. In a campaign of contrasts, there is still the possibility of a glorious conclusion.
Five flawless penalties from Cole Palmer, Bellingham, Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold, combined with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s save from Manuel Akanji, got the job done. Next it’s on to a semi-final against the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday.
Looking forward to the Dutch
Southgate will be assured by the composed performance of Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, while 19-year-old Mainoo nerveless, making another excellent contribution before he was substituted.
Harry Kane is a concern, doesn’t look like his usual self, but then again he has a slightly different role in this championships. It is sometimes overlooked, but Kane is there to do a job for the team and when he gets that sniff of goal, he takes it, that’s his job and how good he is.