GUIMARAES (AFP) - England deservedly claimed the consolation prize of third place at the Nations League 6-5 on penalties on Sunday (June 9) after a 0-0 draw against a limited Switzerland in Guimaraes.
Gareth Southgate's men dominated the 120 minutes in northern Portugal, but Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling all hit the woodwork, Callum Wilson saw a late goal ruled out by VAR and Yann Sommer made a string of saves.
England were faultless from the spot, scoring all six of their spot-kicks before Josip Drmic was denied by Jordan Pickford.
After years of disappointment in shootouts, Southgate's side have now won two in 12 months after also edging past Colombia in the last 16 of last year's World Cup.
Southgate made seven changes to the side that started Thursday's 3-1 semi-final defeat to Netherlands with six of those involved in last weekend's Champions League final returning.
Harry Kane was restored as captain and nearly made an impact inside two minutes, cheekily chipping Sommer, but the Swiss goalkeeper just touched the ball onto the crossbar.
England enjoyed far the better of the chances in an unsurprisingly subdued encounter, a third-place playoff in a newly-formed competition.
Sterling should have scored when he shot too close to Sommer after good build-up work by Kane.
Trent Alexander-Arnold started for just the second time in a competitive international and the Liverpool right-back showed why he may overtake Kyle Walker in Southgate's pecking order with a series of the inviting deliveries that have become his trademark at club level.
Sterling did not make a clean connection from Alexander-Arnold's first dangerous cross before Alli met the second with a powerful header but could not keep his effort down.
Â
Â
Â
England nearly got the helping hand they needed after half-time when Fabian Schar turned Danny Rose's fine low cross off the inside of his own post.
Against hosts Portugal on Wednesday, the Swiss had largely dominated but went down to a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick, but on Sunday they only fleetingly posed a threat on the counter-attack.
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka had their best chance just before the hour when he was picked out at the edge of the box by Harris Seferovic, but his powerful shot was turned behind by Pickford.
Any hope of a moment of inspiration form Vladimir Petkovic's men disappeared when Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri hobbled off injured 25 minutes from time.
Kane was also substituted having again struggled to make an impact in his third appearance since returning from a two-month injury layoff.
Wilson replaced the England captain and thought he had won the game five minutes from time when he bundled home after Alli's header came back off the bar.
However, just as in the defeat to the Dutch, England saw a goal ruled out after a VAR review for a foul earlier in the move by Wilson.
England continued to dominate in extra-time, but still could not find a way past the exceptional Sommer.
Another wicked Alexander-Arnold cross picked out Alli and his header was saved at full stretch by the Borussia Monchengladbach 'keeper whothen got back up to block Sterling's follow-up effort.
Sterling hit the post from a free-kick in the second period of extra-time, but England finally got their reward in the shootout.
Harry Maguire, Ross Barkley, Jadon Sancho, Sterling, Pickford and Eric Dier all found the net before Pickford denied Drmic.
Chelsea face stadium closure as UEFA opens disciplinary proceedings over alleged racist chants is punished with a minimum of a partial stadium closure."
Chelsea facing partial Stamford Bridge closure over racist
Newcastle plunge 10-man Huddersfield closer to the drop Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Huddersfield Town - St James Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 23, 2019 Huddersfield Towns Jonathan Hogg in action with Newcastle Uniteds Jamaal Lascelles Action Images via Reuters/Lee
Newcastle plunge 10-man Huddersfield closer to the drop
Angry Messi says son questions why Argentines criticise him. The 31-year-old's return to the national side last week after an eight-month absence was marred by a humiliating 3-1 loss to Venezuela
Radojko "Raddy" Avramovic, former Singapore head coach, gave Baihakki his Lions debut "We brought in young lads in that squad… he was in that generation and we worked with them to prepare them for the national team. Some of them had earlier opportunities to play, some later but most of that generation played nearly ten years (or more).
'Time for a Singaporean to be The Lions' head coach'
Mon 08 April 2019, 11:10 | Tottenham Hotspur Tickets are now on general sale for both of our International Champions Cup (ICC) matches in Asia this summer. First up, we take on Juventus in Singapore on 21 July.
Spurs Tour - tottenhamhotspur.com
Dec 21, 2018 · Pep Guardiola has knocked down Jurgen Klopp's claim that Manchester City have no weaknesses, arguing that every team is fallible. Klopp's Liverpool and Guardiola's Manchester City are the
Guardiola dismisses Klopp's claim that Man City have no
Liverpool's Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah holds the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League final football match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on June 1, 2019.
Champions League: Mohamed Salah lauds 'unbelievable
Football: Premier League voices fears over proposed Champions League reforms Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane walks past the trophy during the medal ceremony after winning the Champions League in
Premier League voices fears over proposed Champions League
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/04/05/premier-league-voices-fears-over-proposed-champions-league-reforms/
Premier League voices fears over proposed Champions League reforms AFP April 5, 2019 AFP No Comments London (AFP) - The Premier League voiced "significant concerns" over potential reforms to the Champions League on Friday, saying the changes would damage the thriving domestic game.
Premier League Voices Fears Over Proposed Champions League
Read more about Jesus fires as Man City snatch top spot from Liverpool on Business Standard. Pep Guardiola welcomed Gabriel Jesus's return to form as the Brazilian struck twice in a 3-1 win over Everton as Manchester City leapfrogged Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League.Jesus hadn't scored a Premier League goal for four months
Gabriel Jesus double fires Manchester City back to the top of
Jurgen Klopp to Liverpool: Boss agrees Reds deal and will sign contract on Thursday evening providing leadership and experience at a vital time for the Reds. His goal against Aston Villa was
Champions League: Liverpool better than my title-winning
Guangzhou (AFP) - Nico Yennaris became the first foreign-born footballer to represent China when the former Arsenal reserve started in a 2-0 home win over the Philippines on Friday. The 26-year-old midfielder was born in London and was an England youth international, but his mother is Chinese and the country is looking to naturalise
London-born Yennaris makes landmark China debut in Philippine win
* Cardiff City beat Southampton 2-1 after a thrilling finish. toggle menu Football
Soccer-Zohore gives Cardiff 2-1 win over Southampton in
0 comments:
Post a Comment