For the third time in a row, the Swiss’s dreams of a European Championship have been shattered at the penalty spot. Manuel Akanji, the Swiss figure who dominated the tournament, missed
The stadium directors have a sense of humor and dramaturgy, and the choice of songs is appropriate for the occasion. Queen’s “Under Pressure” is played on Saturday evening in Düsseldorf shortly before the start of the penalty shootout between Switzerland and England. And it is Manuel Akanji who is the only shooter who cannot withstand the pressure in the European Championship quarter-finals and is stopped by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Akanji, of all people. He was once again the outstanding Swiss figure against England until his missed shot; there is no better defender at this European Championship. And now Akanji needs to be consoled after the game. Like three years ago in the European Championship quarter-final against Spain, when he was one of three Swiss players in St. Petersburg who missed a penalty shootout, alongside Fabian Schär and Ruben Vargas.
And so the Swiss’s dream European Championship journey in Germany comes to an abrupt end. For the third time in a row, they are eliminated from the European Championships on penalties – eight years ago in France, in the round of 16, Granit Xhaka was the only one who failed to score against Poland.
The European Championship quarter-final between Switzerland and England is no picnic. The teams watch each other like boxers for long stretches, sometimes the Swiss come out of hiding a little more, then the English. The encounter is also comparable to a chess game between two opponents who would be happy with a draw. But a draw is not an option this evening.
Akanji neutralizes Kane
It was shaping up to be a long evening early on. Before the break, it was the speedy Bukayo Saka who brought the game to life, regularly sprinting away from Michel Aebischer but finding no takers for his passes into the middle. The Swiss defensive leader Akanji not only organized the defense with style, but also made the world-class striker Harry Kane look like a young player. Kane only touched the ball nine times in the first half, never at all in the twenty minutes before the break, and was substituted in extra time.
After a dismal performance at the European Championships, England coach Gareth Southgate has decided to adapt the system to suit his opponents for this quarter-final. This shows how much respect the Swiss have earned from one of the favourites.
Like Switzerland, England played in a 3-4-2-1 formation – with Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden in central roles behind Kane. But it was almost exclusively Saka who posed a threat. Shortly before half-time, Granit Xhaka made a strong tackle to save Kobbie Mainoo’s shot after another successful dribble by Saka. After the game, Xhaka revealed that he had played with a torn muscle in his adductor muscles. “I wanted to be there for the team and grit my teeth,” he said. “But I couldn’t hit long balls or shoot properly at goal during the game.”
In the second half, the two teams are like a mixture of boxers and chess players. This leads to tough duels on the one hand, and a lot of ball-pushing on the other. It’s a stalemate.
The Swiss scored the first blow when Embolo scored the 1-0 goal from a few meters in the 75th minute after a preparatory effort by Dan Ndoye and a deflection by the English defender John Stones. It was not a knockout for the English, because just five minutes later Saka was not attacked energetically enough by Aebischer and scored the 1-1 with a well-placed low shot.
0:0, 1:1, it doesn’t matter on this evening. A draw is not acceptable. Not after 90 minutes, not after extra time, when the coaches activate their best penalty takers from the bench. This includes Xherdan Shaqiri, who uses the 15 minutes of playing time to stir up the chess game with a pinch of anarchy. In the 117th minute, he almost creates a stroke of genius, kicking a corner kick directly onto the crossbar.
In any case, it is the Swiss who are putting on more pressure in the final phase, are closer to winning and have promising opportunities. They play as if they want to avoid the duel between the shooter and the goalkeeper for good reasons. The English, on the other hand, who have lost a penalty shootout so often in recent years – most recently in the European Championship final against Italy three years ago – remain confident this time from eleven meters.
Of all people, the English.
Place of reconciliation
Basically, Düsseldorf is not a worthy venue for what could be the biggest game in Swiss football history on this Saturday evening. A football cathedral in Milan or Madrid, London or Paris, or at this European Championship in Berlin, Munich and Dortmund would be appropriate locations for it. And not the arena of a second-class club in Germany.
After all, Düsseldorf is also the city where Murat Yakin and Granit Xhaka had lively conversations over fine wine and good food a few months ago. The coach and his captain found each other late, but not too late – and thus laid the foundation for the national team’s successful European Championship campaign.
The Swiss’ dream of triumph ended in a penalty shootout. Just like at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when they missed all three attempts in the round of 16 against Ukraine in Cologne, just fifty kilometers from Düsseldorf. Goalie Pascal Zuberbühler did not concede a single goal from open play in the entire tournament 18 years ago. And the current Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer is now heading home without having been able to make a great impression at this European Championship.
Euro 2024 may now actually have a final between the two top favourites. However, the duel between English and French minimalists would not be a dream final.