Three Lions roar to victory after thrashing Switzerland on penalties

England fans roared as the Three Lions finally broke Switzerland down on penalties in the quarter-final of the European Championship this evening.

After a nail-biting 120 minutes in Dusseldorf, supporters did their best to see the national team through to victory – but silence echoed through the stadium as the two teams stepped up to decide the match with a shootout after being held to 1-1.

With an early save from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, the England players’ heads were lifted for the team to cruise on to victory, slotting home all five penalties before the terraces erupted back into life.

Wives and girlfriends of the players joined in the celebrations, with even Prince William pictured punching the air as England defied a painful record on penalties. Supporters from Dusseldorf to Wembley were overcome with emotion as players ran a victory lap of the field.

It was a tense game for both sets of fans, with the deadlock broken in the 75th minute by a tap-in from Switzerland’s Breel Embolo forcing England through the gears to try to break down the Swiss defence. 

Emotions were lifted by a world-class strike from Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka on the edge of the box moments later, cutting in on the left to shoot from distance and beating the Swiss goalkeeper to bring home back to England stands.

As hands finally unclasped, fans across Europe shared their joy and optimism for the coming match.

In Dusseldorf, coach driver Tim Shires, 42, from Bristol said:’That was fantastic. I think we’ve got a real chance now.

‘We hadn’t really played well and it’s all going to click at some point. Let’s hope it’s in the final.

‘It’s great news for Britain. I didn’t vote for him but it’s a great start for Keir Starmer. The whole country must be buzzing.’

His daughter Chloe, 12, who was attending her first England game, said: ‘I’ve been watching it on TV but it’s so exciting being here.’

Window company CEO Harry Summer, 48, jetted in from Canada with his wife Pam, 49, and son Joban 14, for the match.

They gambled on England reaching the quarter-final several months ago and paid £1,000 each for match tickets.

Harry said: ‘You just never know what is going to happen with England.

‘But this is now a real chance to do something special. They were incredibly resilient.’

It was impossible to ignore England’s record on penalties – and the heartbreak in the final of Euro 2020 – as the England players stepped up to the mark after 120 minutes.

The stadium fell silent as Cole Palmer took the first shot, beating Inter Milan’s Yann Sommer and raising hopes in the England camp. 

Jordan Pickford did well to get down to Manuel Akanji’s shot, reiterating a newfound confidence in England’s ability to endure a penalty shootout.

Both England and Switzerland scored their next three goals, leaving fans looking barely able to watch as Trent Alexander-Arnold stepped up to take his penalty.

And in a moment, anxiety turned to elation as the Liverpool right-back bested Yann Sommer to send England through to the semi-finals.

All three quarter-finals so far – save for the Netherlands v Turkey, in play at the time of writing – had been taken to extra time with Europe’s best defence holding tight.

The final moments of extra time looked shaky for England, with Harry Kane subbed off after clashing into Gareth Southgate on the side of the pitch following a brazen tackle from Manuel Akanji.

After a steady first half, the teams went through the motions around the 60 minute mark to try to break the deadlock.

Switzerland gained momentum just before the 60th minute, coming close in the 57th with a header from striker Breel Embolo, soon snatched up by Jordan Pickford.

Two minutes later, the team broke through England’s defence and pushed in on goal before winning their first corner of the match. A second followed just after the 60″ mark as Switzerland prepared two changes. 

Kyle Walker was on hand to cancel out a low cross moments later, but the attacks kept coming. Under pressure, England retained their formation and fended off the offensives until Mainoo found space to try to break the deadlock. 

England supporters burst into life around the 65th minute, cheering the team on with rounds of chants and applause – and giving England the momentum to move through the gears. Fans booed as Harry Kane was given a questionable yellow card in the 67th minute – with Kane left gaping and shaking his head at the call.

The crowd roared into life as both teams came alive, pressing with intent and defending enthusiastically. Swiss fans dominated the chants, banging drums and jumping up and down to egg their team on – but England were able to repeat controlled movements through the centre of the pitch, undeterred.

It was Switzerland’s Breel Embolo who finally made a statement with a 75″ tap-in to unbalance the score. The stands erupted with Swiss chants and the sound of cowbells as England fans around Europe looked on dejected.

Southgate immediately responded with three changes, bringing on Luke Shaw, Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze.

Bellingham looked on shocked as the board flashed a Number 10 for him to come off – later corrected to Number 14. 

A revived England side hit back with a stunning goal from Bukayo Saka, cutting in on the left to shoot from the edge of the box and catching Yann Sommer off guard.

Fans threw beer and an inflatable ball in the air at a Manchester fan zone as England scored to make it 1-1.

An England hat was also thrown into the air at Escape to Freight Island.

Electrician Mike Holmes, 28, said: ‘I thought the worse when they scored but that was incredible.

‘I’m so happy. We can win this.’

Hairdresser Emma Wright, 25, said: ‘That was amazing.

‘I was so down when they scored but we’re right back in it.

‘We can do this.’

With a new formation and confidence injected into the team, England made confident passes around the back and motored forward to keep Switzerland on their toes through the first half. 

Jude Bellingham worked tirelessly across the pitch, bringing momentum to the team on the back of his triumphant last-minute goal against Slovakia last week.

England came close before the whistle for half-time, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka knocking the ball in front of goal but failing to score.

A stolen corner saw Switzerland run the ball to the other end of the pitch – but England’s defence stubbed out the attack before it could come to anything.

Three Lions fans in Manchester were still confident of the team winning despite it being 0-0 at half-time.

Fans at the Escape to Freight Island fanzone cheered on the side in England 1996 and 1982 retro tops.

Engineer Mike Bloom, 27, said: ‘It’s the best we’ve played in the tournament. Saka is on fire and the goal’s coming.’

Hairdresser Sophie Jones, 24, said: ‘The atmosphere’s great and they’re playing really well. Bellingham is going to win it for us.’

However a handful were not so confident.

Switzerland ended the first half without a shot on target, BBC commentator Micah Richards praising the team for looking ‘confident’ and cancelling out the Swiss attacks. 

Former England defender Rio Ferdinand heralded Kobbie Mainoo’s ‘decision making’ from the studio at half-time, calling back to impressive displays at both ends of the pitch.

Declan Rice had a stroke of luck in the 41st minute, slipping briefly but recovering his composure to switch the play and avoid a humiliating opportunity for the Swiss.

Before kick off, buoyant England supporters were convinced the Three Lions would cruise past Switzerland today as they soaked up the big match build-up at London’s Boxpark Wembley fan park.

They believed manager Gareth Southgate would finally fire his stuttering team into action after being stung by criticism over their earlier lacklustre efforts at Euro 2024.

Hundreds of the England faithful calmed their nerves with a beer as they willed Harry Kane and the boys to deliver in Dusseldorf.

Waving England flags and clad in red bucket hats and replicas of the iconic Three Lions top, they sang along to Sweet Caroline and other footie anthems.

As kick-off approached Joe Beard was among those who believed that England would finally throw caution to the wind and blitz the Swiss with attacking football.

The 20-year-old said: ‘It’s going to be a 3-0 victory. Foden will get two and Kane one.

‘Gareth Southgate has been the problem. We’ve been playing for the draw so far when we should be playing for the victory.

But Joe, who was joined with pals Harry Giles, 20, Jack Callegari, 21, Max Richardson, 20, and Miles Davies, 20, added: ‘But we’ve been a little bit better.

‘We just need to free them up and play more attacking football. I think we’re going to do it this time.’

Miles added: ‘Spain have been the best team so far, but we’ve got better players than they have. We just haven’t let them play.

‘I think we’ll play Netherlands in the next round. It’ll be tough but we can do it.’

All five wanted Southgate to put Cole Palmer, who boosted England’s attack line in the 2-1 win over Slovakia after coming on as a sub, in the starting line-up.

They also wanted to see Ivan Toney, who was brought on deep in injury time, as England trailed 1-0, to come off the bench earlier.

Harry said: ‘The manager should have responded to the criticism. If he doesn’t he should go. But we can win this. Come on England!’

Charlotte Ubhi, 27, Victoria Wilkins, both 27, and Amy Hannah, 25, all from Hertfordshire, were equally confident of an England victory.

Victoria said: ‘We’re going to win. After the last game I think they’ll really want to win. We’re better than them but we just need to play.’

Charlotte added: ‘We can do it. They just need to be a bit more energetic and try to keep a clean sheet.’

Joshua Perkins, 27, from Burnley, Lancs., said: ‘England are going to win of course. We’ve got the talent, we just need the performance to go with it.

‘Jude Bellingham will be the key man. I don’t think he’ll score but he’ll get an assist.:

His pal Sammy Preece, 32, added: ‘I reckon it’ll be the Netherlands in the semi-final and we’ll send the Dutch packing.’