Bukayo Saka overcomes Italy demons to become England’s penalty hero in Switzerland win
BBC’s pundits were full of praise for England’s hero
Bukayo Saka couldn’t stop smiling after helping fire England into a Euro 2024 semi-final clash with Holland.
The Three Lions looked to be heading out of the tournament after Breel Embolo fired Switzerland into the lead with only quarter of an hour left in Dusseldorf.
He ranked England’s victory against the Swiss as one of his greatest moments in a Three Lions shirtCredit: BBC
Saka’s wonder strike from the edge of the area drew England levelCredit: Reuters
He then tucked his penalty brilliantly into the right hand cornerCredit: EPA
But, less than five minutes later, Saka stepped up to be England’s lionhearted hero.
The Arsenal star cut inside from his new position at right wing-back to level the scores with a brilliant curling effort from the edge of the box.
Both sides had chances to win it in extra-time before the game, inevitably, drifted towards penalties.
And, with England 2-1 up in spot-kicks after Jordan Pickford’s save from Manuel Akanji, up stepped Saka with the chance to put England in command.
Saka, 22, coolly fired past Yann Sommer, banishing the memory of his heartbreaking miss in the final loss to Italy at Euro 2020.
All five of England’s takers converted to make it a perfect set of pens, with England winning 5-3 - only their fourth-ever shootout win.
Asked about exorcising his demons, Saka admitted: “It’s something I embrace. It was special, very special, how we fought back. The last time we went to penalties we all know what happened.
“You can fail once but you have a choice whether you put yourself in that position again or not. I’m a guy who is going to put myself in that position. I believed in myself.
“To come back from something like that was really difficult but I used it to make me stronger.
“We know there are two more games until we can change our lives and make some history that’s never been made before. We’re really focused on that.
“Hopefully in the next game we can win in 90 minutes. But if this is what it takes we will do anything.”
England boss Gareth Southgate - who was seen giving Saka a massive hug amid the celebrations - couldn’t have been more proud of his starlet.
Southgate said: “Bukayo was so brave. He is one of our best so we were never in any doubt that he was going to take one.
“We all know what he went through so to deliver the way he did… I gave him a massive cuddle on the pitch. He’s a special boy, he’s a dream to work with.
“It takes courage but we had belief in him. We had belief in him previously. He’s now got a lot more experience of those pressure moments. His all-round performance was exceptional.”
"So yeah, I’m proud of myself as well for that."
After seeing Saka beam his way through a post-match interview on the BBC, host Gary Lineker was full of praise for the "wonderful" England star.
BUKAYO SAKA LEVELS FOR ENGLAND! ????????????????????????????#BBCEuros #Euro2024 #ENGSUI pic.twitter.com/tqNFoTEJ7Y
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 6, 2024
He said: "What a wonderful young man. He is so likeable and so brilliant."
While Beeb pundit Rio Ferdinand added: "Everything about him just comes off as so positive. You can’t help but love him not only for his football but his personality and his character.
"I’d go as far to say that he’s England’s most important player because he’s so different to everybody else. He’s the one that will run at people and beat them one on one and go in behind.
"Even today, he played a wing back position today but he is a winger. He’s such a talented player."
Saka was one of a number of England stars that received disgraceful racist abuse for missing a penalty in England’s last shoot-out at the Euros.
He had his penalty saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma as Italy beat England in the Euro 2020 final after coming on as a substitute.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
