A look back on the Three Lions' dramatic penalty shootout win over Switzerland, and can the Three Lions see off the Netherlands? Our expert panel tackles all the biggest talking points from Euro 2024
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00:00And I mean, I suppose the flip side to that, Mark, would be that even though England aren't
00:05playing great, and I think we can all agree on that, they are somehow in a Euro semi-final. I
00:10mean, could they stagger through this as well? Is there an argument to be made for results being
00:16more important than performances at this stage? Oh, 100%. And if England, you know, perform the
00:22way they did in the last three, four games over the next two games and they win both those, then
00:28nobody's really talking about performances, I don't think. We're just celebrating a moment
00:33in history. But I mean, I look back to history in this point, and I look back at Italian 90,
00:38England stumbled through large parts of that tournament, you know, could have went out in
00:42the group stages, could have went out in the last 16 against Belgium, could have went out against
00:46Cameroon in the quarterfinal. I look at Euro 96, weren't great in the group stages at Euro 96.
00:52And, you know, had to come through a penalty shootout against Spain. So
00:56tournaments really aren't about playing well. I mean, in an ideal world, you will play well,
01:01but it's about getting the results. That's all that matters. I can remember Greece won in Europe
01:062004, and a god-awful team. They were just organized and disciplined. And I think that's
01:11kind of what, you know, England kind of need to be in these next two games, or hopefully two games.
01:16I just think the problem with Holland is, or the Netherlands, it's a big step up
01:21from where England have been. You know, you write about Van Dijk, probably the best centre-back in
01:26the world at the moment. You look throughout the side, Memphis Depay, although he didn't do it in
01:31the Premier League, he's goalscoring record for the Netherlands is incredible. You know, they
01:34have talented players right the way through that side. I think Man for Man England are better,
01:40but it's about the attitude. It's about the organization, the discipline,
01:45and really in all three areas, it's going to have to be a big improvement from England if they
01:49don't get through this on Wednesday.
01:52And I suppose, George, another positive to be taken was the fact that England
01:56looked very much calm and in control during the penalty shoot-out performance. I mean,
02:02it was very much a sort of un-English display in that respect, wasn't it? It's not something we're
02:06used to seeing from an England penalty shoot-out. I'm such a huge fan of Jordan Pigford. I think
02:13he's brought so much value to England in penalty shoot-outs. He's helped so much with that. Just
02:20the presence of him and that little bit of the unhinged. Obviously, it must rattle penalty
02:25takers a little bit, but that helps so much having someone who's capable of saving penalties because
02:30it always gives you a chance. Someone like, look at Martinez for Argentina. Look at the platform
02:36he's given them across the last three or four years. So important to have someone who can do
02:40that. And obviously, I was actually sad there when the final whistle went and I looked at who
02:47was on the pitch and I counted the penalty takers. When I listed seven to myself, I thought,
02:52okay, I actually feel quite good. I actually had no worries that we're going to lose that
02:55penalty shoot-out. It sounds crazy. I just didn't think it was our time to go out.
02:59But when I listed it and I thought, okay, Tony's on the pitch and okay, you've got
03:03Saka and then once you go Trent and then after that, you still had Eze and Rice to come after
03:09if it went a little bit further. I just felt quite at ease, to be honest. And I feel like
03:13there's just a little bit more because of the nature of the squad and the chemistry and the
03:18way that Southgate's built that culture. I just felt a little bit more relaxed about it.
03:24And what we saw were, I guess, five brilliant penalties and one really good save from Pickford.
03:29So it was kind of a perfect shoot-out from our side of it. And something like that gives you
03:33such a huge boost. You've got to think about the feeling in the squad, the celebrations,
03:39the players after the game, the weight of the shoulders just came off just a little bit.
03:43And I think there's a feeling, like you said before, with the stomping through it. It's
03:47not about performance. It doesn't say on the trophy when you win it. Stumble through the
03:51group stages, it just says winners. And for me, that is more than good enough. So I think that's
03:57a really, really big moment that people maybe understand a little bit. I think it's huge.