England had to work hard to earn a place in the semifinal of the European Championship.
The Three Lions defeated Switzerland in a tense penalty shootout after the match ended 1-1.
Breel Embolo had given the Swiss team the lead which was later canceled by Bukayo Saka.
England players showed maturity and composure as all five penalty takers scored the penalty and took their team to the next round of the competition, one step closer to winning the Euros.
Despite not being part of the penalty shootout, Declan Rice helped the team in winning as revealed by teammate Luke Shaw.
Rice was helping the players by being vocal, encouraging them and telling them to work on their breathing techniques to keep calm in pressure situation.
As per The Mirror, Shaw said:
“Dec was our speaker who was keeping everyone calm, calming everyone down, telling everyone to do their breathing techniques and manifest it.
“It was needed.”
It was a complete team performance from Gareth Southgate’s men to win their place in the semifinal.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved Manuel Akanji’s penalty to put the presure on the Swiss team.
Akanji’s Manchester City teammate Kyle Walker helped Pickford in saving the penalty, as revealed by Shaw.
The Manchester United left-back said:
“I think Walks helped him a little bit.
“I could see Walks was pointing to his left. Walks was pointing to that side and it gave him extra help. I think he was already going that way, but it gave him some extra help to know where to go.”
England will now come up against a strong Netherlands side, who beat Turkey in the last round.
The Three Lions should feel confident about their chances of winning the semifinal but after that, Spain or France stand in their way to win the title.
It is still early to suggest what will happen next but the win against Switzerland should give Southgate’s team confidence ahead of the semifinal.
Having suffered criticism from the media and the ex-players for their performances for most of the competition, England have done well and answered their critics in the best possible manner.
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