Prince William has praised the England team’s performance following their dramatic penalty-shootout win.
Gareth Southgate’s team progressed to the semi-finals after a tense 1-1 draw against Switzerland.
The Prince of Wales said: “Nail biting to the very end. Well done England! Semi-finals here we come! We believe.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the winning penalty to send England through to the next round, where they will play the winner of tonight’s match between The Netherlands and Turkey.
Prince William congratulates Bukayo Saka
Getty
England manager Gareth Southgate told the BBC: “I don’t know what people think we are but we’re in a third semi-final (under his leadership). It says a lot about the whole group. History tells us that (they don’t do it the easy way) but I just thought the players were brilliant. It’s the best we’ve played.
“Winning tournaments isn’t just about playing well. I thought we did play well but it’s not just about that, you’ve got to show all those other attributes to win and we showed them all tonight.”
On Bukayo Saka taking a penalty after missing in the Euro 2020 final, Southgate added: “It was so brave. He’s one of our best so we were never in any question he was going to take one but we all know what he went through.
“It was a huge performance, huge result for us and we’re still in it.”
England manager Gareth Southgate celebrates England’s winning penalty
PA
Captain Harry Kane added: “There’s a few hearts skipping a beat out there, for sure. Another tough game. Penalties is penalties.
“It’s a nerve-wracking situation but I felt prepared, I wasn’t involved but I felt comfortable with the lads and five out of five, one save from Picks, that’s all it takes.
“I think the difference between this year and previous years is we’ve got proven penalty-takers with Ivan and Cole, Bukayo takes them for Arsenal. We had a lot more experience in that sense and we showed it out there.”
On his match-winning penalty, Alexander-Arnold added: “It’s what we practised, a lot of practice goes into that moment. When the gaffer tells me I’m taking one, my belly doesn’t drop. I enjoy it. I knew I just needed to execute it. Every quarter-final has gone to extra-time, they’re fine margins but we’ve been able to win.”
England’s Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrates with Jude Bellingham
PA
Former England captain Alan Shearer said on BBC: “Palmer, Bellingham, Saka, Toney, Trent. Pressure? What pressure? Pressure is for tyres. It’s a different generation. They don’t feel it. How confident were they?
“They had the belief. They somehow found the energy to get themselves into the semi-final.”
