Saka Sends England to the Semis. Player Ratings

Saka Sends England. Player Ratings as Penalties Rule

England and Switzerland played a very exciting soccer match in the quarterfinals of Euro 2024. The game ended with the score tied 1-1 after extra time.

The win set up a semi-final spot against the Netherlands, who beat tricky Turkey 2-1.

The other semi-final features European most in-form team, Spai, versus former champions, France led by Kylian Mbappe.

This meant the teams had to decide the winner using penalty kicks.

It was a very tense moment as both teams had a chance to advance to the semifinals.

However, England held their nerves to win the penalty shootout and earn an exciting victory.

One player in particular stood out for his amazing performance – Bukayo Saka.

Let’s take a closer look at how each England player did in the match according to ratings from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. I will also provide details on substitutions and key moments:

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford played very well as usual for England.

He made some great saves during regular time and penalties to keep the score close.

Most importantly, he saved Switzerland’s fifth penalty kick which secured the win for England. Rating: 8/10.

In defense, Kieran Trippier and Ezri Konsa both had a solid game, defending well against Swiss attacks.

Konsa scored lower because he was beaten which led to Switzerland’s goal.

John Stones and Kyle Walker also defended very strong for most of the match but made some mistakes. Ratings: Trippier 6/10, Konsa 7/10, Stones 6/10, Walker 6/10.

In midfield, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham were immense as usual for England. They controlled play through the center.

Bukayo Saka, who played more attacking than usual as a right wingback, absolutely stood out.

He created chances, scored, and scored in penalties. 10/10 performance from him.

Kobbie Mainoo impressed too while Phil Foden was quiet. Ratings: Rice 8/10, Bellingham 8/10, Saka 10/10, Mainoo 7/10, Foden 5/10.

Up front, Harry Kane looked sluggish and struggled to make an impact. Rating: 5/10.

Substitutes

As substitutes, Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze, Luke Shaw, Ivan Toney, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all performed well when coming on.

Palmer scored in penalties, while TAA scored the decisive deciding penalty kick. Ratings: Palmer 7/10, Eze 7/10, Shaw 8/10, Toney 7/10, TAA 7/10.

Manager Gareth Southgate made some good substitution choices and prepared his team well for penalties.

Getting this young England team to a second straight Euro semi-final is an amazing achievement. Rating for Southgate: 8/10.

In the end, England stayed calm under pressure to win the shootout 5-4 against Switzerland thanks to Pickford’s save and Alexander-Arnold’s winner.

Special praise goes to MOTM Bukayo Saka, who lit the spark for his country with a star performance in their toughest test so far.

England march on in their hopes of winning Euro 2024!

Do you think they will win the cup? Answer in your comments.