🔬 The Debrief as England win spot-kicks and resilient Netherlands advance | OneFootball

There were two more EURO 2024 quarter-finals on Saturday, as England faced Switzerland and Netherlands took on Türkiye.

Here's what went down.

What happened? 📝

England and Switzerland cancelled each other out with a 1-1 draw after extra time, but the Three Lions progressed through to the semi-final after a penalty shoot-out.

Gareth Southgate's men had to come from behind after Breel Embolo had put the Swiss in front, but that lead would last just five minutes as Bukayo Saka levelled with an excellent strike from distance.

Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji was the only player to miss his penalty, with England converting all five of their spot kicks.

Türkiye seemed to be heading into the semi-final as they led for a long spell after Samet Akaydin headed home a superb cross from Arda Güler

Up until the 70th minute, the Netherlands had barely threatened, but a razor-sharp six-minute spell saw a Stefan de Vrij bullet header and an own goal from Mert Müldür turn the tables completely.

The brave Türkiye side battled right to the end, but it was not to be for them as the Netherlands did enough to hang onto their 2-1 lead and reach the semi-final.

Player of the day 🔥

England's victory was spearheaded by a sublime performance from Bukayo Saka.

Playing on the right hand side – when many had expected him to be deployed on the left – the Arsenal man scored the equaliser to take the tie to extra-time and exorcised the demons from his missed penalty in the final of EURO 2020 by coolly converting his spot-kick in the shoot-out.

What a star he is.

Moment of the day 😍

Sometimes it takes a goal from an unlikely source to turn a game on its head, and when the Netherlands were not only trailing Türkiye, but struggling to make any kind of impact, defender Stefan de Vrij came up with the goods.

The 32-year-old had only scored one other goal at a major tournament for his side, and that came back in the 2014 World Cup during a 5-1 win over Spain.

His bullet header sparked the comeback that sent Netherlands through into the semi-final, and it's one that will be remembered for years to come.

Photo of the day 📸

An eagle-eyed photographer captured Jordan Pickford's water bottle ahead of the penalty shootout, complete with information on each and every Switzerland penalty taker.

Notice how it says Akanji - dive left?

Stat of the day 📊

Whilst his performance will do nothing to alleviate the disappointment of exiting the tournament, 19-year-old Arda Güler can feel proud of the contribution he made to his side's progression to the quarter-final of the competition.

His cross for Türkiye's opener was so perfectly placed that all his team-mate Samet Akaydin had to do was to simply nod home, and the youngster was unlucky not to score himself when he crashed his shot onto the post.

The stats speak for themselves about his showing.

What this means 🤔

England will now face the Netherlands in Wednesday's semi-final.

What they said 🗣️

England boss Gareth Southgate was full of praise for his side after their shootout win. "I thought the players were brilliant," he told reporters after the match. "It's the best we've played. We caused them a lot of problems with the ball. They're a really good side, they're hard to press, they're hard to defend against, their movement's good. To come from behind again, and show the character and resilience we did; winning tournaments isn't just about playing well, you've got to show all of those other attributes."

After his miss in the final of Euro 2020, Bukayo Saka spoke about the pressure of taking a penalty in another high-stakes occasion. "It's something I embrace," the Arsenal man revealed. "You fail once but I'm the sort of guy who wants to put myself in the position again. I know there's a lot of nervous people watching, like my family, but I kept my cool and scored my penalty."

Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen spoke about the moment when Stefan de Vrij headed in the equaliser. "When De Vrij went in the air I went in the air too, doing the header by myself," he admitted. "We are so happy, we are so proud. Semi-final here we come!"

What comes next? ⏭️

Unfortunately, Sunday and Monday are rest days, but there's plenty of excitement to come as Spain play France in the first semi-final on Tuesday.