- England make perfect five from five in 5-3 shootout win over Switzerland
- Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the penalty to send England through to the semi-finals
- Listen to It’s all about to begin! EUROS DAILY: Harry Kane needs to be out of the England squad – it’s holding them back and it’s time for Ivan Toney or Ollie Watkins
Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed England completed training perfectly as they beat Switzerland on penalties in the European Championship semi-final.
The Liverpool star came on as a substitute in the second half of extra time to take a penalty in the shoot-out.
The 25-year-old fired the decisive penalty into the top left corner after Manuel Akanji missed Switzerland’s first spot-kick, while Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer was sent completely the wrong way.
Alexander-Arnold was brought on by Gareth Southgate specifically to take a penalty, a decision that paid off as he scored the decisive spot-kick after Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Ivan Toney had all scored.
“That’s what we practice, a lot of practice goes into that moment. They’re moments that I enjoy. When the gaffer tells me I’m going to take one, my stomach doesn’t drop, I enjoy it, I practice it,” he said.
‘I knew my place, I knew I had to execute it, I went out and did it. All five penalties were great.’ Alexander-Arnold fires the decisive final penalty into the top left corner
Liverpool star said ‘practice’ was crucial to England’s perfect penalty shootout
Alexander-Arnold said he ‘enjoys’ the pressure of penalty shootouts and that his ‘stomach doesn’t drop’ in those risky moments after his penalty sent England through to the semi-finals of the European Championship
“I knew my spot, I knew I had to execute, I went out there and did it. All five penalties were great.”
England now face a semi-final against a Dutch team featuring Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool team-mates Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk. After triumphing in the penalty shoot-out, Alexander-Arnold was under no illusions about how close these knockout matches could be.
‘Both quarterfinals on Friday also went to extra time. These games are tight, but we were able to win.
“These are the goals and ambitions we set for ourselves. It was another tough opponent, falling behind. The team showed a lot of character, a lot of belief and heart and soul. We dug deep when it mattered most.
“We knew it was going to be exciting. We weren’t going to let the game go, but that would have been nice.”
The 25-year-old celebrated his victory with friends and family after the match, saying in a viral video that he “didn’t want one.”
His comment sparked a debate over who would not take a penalty, with fans focusing on two players they believe Alexander-Arnold was referring to: England captain Harry Kane and Manchester City star Phil Foden.
Kane struggled and did not convert the penalty as he appeared to be suffering from cramp in extra time. Gareth Southgate was substituted for Toney, who took the penalty in his characteristically nonchalant manner.
Gareth Southgate backed Alexander-Arnold’s courage in taking the decisive penalty
A substitute Kane rushed onto the pitch to embrace Alexander-Arnold after his penalty and later praised the ‘proven penalty takers’ in the England squad for their performance when needed
Kane, England’s regular penalty taker, saw the nervous situation from the sidelines and praised the experienced penalty takers in the squad for keeping their cool:
“There were a few hearts that skipped a beat. It was another tough game. It was great resilience from the lads, to be behind with 15 minutes to go and step it up and score the goal we did.
‘The difference between this year and previous years is that we have proven penalty takers with Ivan Toney, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka. We had a lot more experience in that sense and they showed that there.’
