Table of Contents
Recap
Jude Bellingham has acknowledged Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s contribution to England’s confident penalty shootout against Switzerland.
- Bellingham praises Hasselbaink’s contribution
- England beat Switzerland in penalty shootout
- The Netherlands will meet in the Euro 2024 semi-final
What happened?
The Three Lions do not boast an impressive track record in penalty shootouts at major tournaments as they have been knocked out on seven occasions in the past after losing tie-breakers, the most recent being the Euro 2020 final heartbreak against in Italy. However, the team managed to progress to their Euro 2024 quarter-final clash against Switzerland as all five English penalty takers found the back of the net to ensure the team reached the last four stages.
The bigger picture
Bellingham , who is one of five penalty heroes for England, has credited Gareth Southgate’s assistant and former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for boosting the players’ confidence. The Real Madrid star admits he has scary memories of the Three Lions’ past shootout failures but the Dutch coach’s words helped them prevail.
What jude bellngham said
Speaking to BBC Radio, the 21-year-old said, “First for me to be in one, get one. I have terrible memories growing up and I think the first Euro I was really interested in was the one against Italy [Euro 2012] with the dink from [Andrea] Pirlo it kind of tarnishes your memory a bit, you always think : ‘England in penalty shoot-outs, I’m not sure,’ but it’s really good. to have that experience to add to the locker today.
“I’m really confident in my preparation, confident in the things I’ve talked about with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, he’s stepped up a lot for us. It’s the work he does behind closed doors, with the young people who are willing to receive that information, that put us in those situations to win.”
He added, “So it was a massive team effort. Another one is [goalkeepers] Dean Henderson, Aaron Ramsdale, Tom Heaton, who we’ve been with in this camp, they’ve been huge in helping us practice penalties.
“Again, they won’t get the credit they deserve but essentially, if they don’t put in the right effort, you don’t have the right practice to go out and execute. So many people are involved in this win. It’s isang malaking panalo ng koponan.”
What’s next for England?
Southgate’s side will aim to qualify for their second consecutive European Championship final as they prepare to take on Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands in a blockbuster semi-final clash in Dortmund.
