By Tom Gott
England's Euro 2024 journey is still alive and kicking.
The Three Lions had to battle to a 1-1 draw with Switzerland over 120 minutes but, while many fans feared a penalty shoot-out meant automatic defeat, Gareth Southgate's charges clearly did not get the memo as they bagged all five to book their place in the semi-final.
In their new 3-4-2-1 formation, England made a solid start to the game, with right wing-back Bukayo Saka proving particularly dangerous in the opening stages.
The half-time whistle blew with the two sides tied at 0-0 and without a single shot on target from either side.
That being said, England fans were still happy with what they had seen in the first 45.
Switzerland grew into the game in the second half after two smart substitutions, and they got the rewards their performance deserved.
Dan Ndoye's cross took a deflection as it squirmed across the six-yard box, allowing Breel Embolo to bundle home at the back post.
Now needing to step things up, England took just five minutes to restore parity to the game.
Saka cut inside from the right and fizzed a delightful strike across the box and into Yann Sommer's bottom corner to send the game to extra time.
A tense extra time saw the game head to penalties which, given England's track record in shoot-outs, saw social media decide the game was pretty much over.
Jordan Pickford, however, refused to fall to the curse.
He denied Manuel Akanji with Switzerland's first effort, giving England an immediate advantage.
After four perfect penalties, up stepped Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Is he a right-back? Is he a midfielder?
Who cares? He's a match-winner.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as X reacts as England break penalties curse to beat Switzerland.
