PIX: England in Euro semis after shoot-out win over Switzerland

Images from the Euro 2024 quarter-final between England and Switzerland, at Dusseldorf Arena, Germany, on Saturday.

England reached their third semi-final in four tournaments when Trent Alexander-Arnold slammed home the decisive kick to give them an emotional shootout victory over Switzerland after the teams had drawn 1-1 in a tense quarter-final on Saturday.

Alexander-Arnold, dropped from the starting team after two disappointing performances in the group stage, came on as a late extra-time substitute to take the glory after Jordan Pickford had saved from Manuel Akanji.

It was the third successive Euro 2024 quarter-final to go to extra time, two of them to penalties.

Breel Embolo had put Switzerland ahead after 75 minutes, with Bukayo Saka levelling five minutes later in a game of few chances.

Saka, who missed in England's Euro 2020 final shootout defeat by Italy, stood up again on Saturday and converted confidently in front of a wall of England fans.

That next game is Wednesday's semi-final in Dortmund against either the Netherlands or Turkey, and though England will almost certainly have to find more intensity and accuracy in attack than they showed on Saturday, the confidence gained from another shootout win after decades of pain will be priceless.

England came into the game on the back of two dire performances and, though they showed more invention and movement there was again little end product, and with the Swiss equally cautious, there was barely a meaningful effort on goal for an hour.

Switzerland, impressive victors over Italy last week and seeking their first major semi-final, took the lead after 75 minutes when Dan Ndoye whipped in a deflected low cross from the right, with Breel Embolo stretching in front of Kyle Walker to poke it home.

Southgate responded by immediately throwing on three substitutes – Cole Palmer, Luke Shaw and Eberechi Eze - and five minutes later England were level as Saka cut in from the right wing and curled a brilliant 20-metre left-footed shot in off the far post.

In extra-time England's Declan Rice had a fizzing shot from the edge of the box brilliantly saved by a diving Yann Sommer, while Xherdan Shaqiri clipped a post direct from a corner, before the penalties that had felt inevitable almost from the start duly arrived.

Switzerland had lost three of their four major tournament shootouts, while England’s famously uncomfortable record was seven defeats and two wins.

That reads 7-3 now after Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Saka, and Ivan Toney all scored confidently ahead of Alexander-Arnold's finale.

The Swiss also lost in the quarter-finals of the last Euros on a shoot-out.