England were well prepared for the penalty shootout that saw them eliminate Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, according to Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Three Lions required a late stunner by Bukayo Saka to force extra time against the Swiss, who had opened the scoring in the 75th minute of Saturday's match. The additional 30 minutes proved fruitless and the teams headed to a shootout — England's first since losing the Euro 2020 final on penalties.
This time around, England were the ones who came out on top after making all five of their spot-kicks. And while the team's overall performance in the match may not have been pretty, Alexander-Arnold said that the result is all that matters as the Three Lions now move on to the semi-finals.
"We knew it was going to be tight," Alexander-Arnold told the BBC. "Whatever it takes and no matter what we win - that is all that matters to us."
As for the shootout in particular, the 25-year-old revealed that Gareth Southgate had the team working on spot-kicks.
"It is what we have practised," he said. "When the gaffer said I was taking one, I enjoy it and I practice it - I knew I had to just execute it.
"All five penalties from us were great."
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