QF England 1 - 1 Switzerland (AET) England win on pens
We trundle on. England exorcise penalty traumas yet more. At some stage we will talk about their good run at shootouts. We have to be proud of the bottle and composure shown at the end there. It is a triumphant sticking plaster though, in yet another game where we palpably saw the energy and effectiveness drain, unchecked, from about the 30 minute mark right through to 120. At the end we were hanging on, even with fresh legs.
We joined the France and Portugal club of accepting the 50/50 of pens in favour of the unknown risk of going for it during 40 minutes of stalemate at the end of the game. Whilst it's a results game, the sheer lack of having had any practice of piling forward, at any point of the tourney, is a habit creating thing. The gear shift is a habit, and a habit we've not formed. As I watch the Netherlands and Turkey now, not knowing who will win, I can be sure that either of these teams will naturally be able to attack us, because they've spent the past 5 games doing just that.
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