Julius OkorieNigeria born England international, Bukayo Saka, was a delight to watch Saturday night as he helped the Three Lions of England overcome hard fighting Switzerland to cruise into the semifinals of the ongoing Euro Championship in Germany.
Rampant Saka did not only rise above the ghost of missed penalty at the 2020 edition where England lost to Italy in the finals in Wembley, but also rose to the occasion in Berlin level up for England against Switzerland who had already shot into the lead in the 75th minute with just 15 minutes left and disappointment already written on the faces of England supporters.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelBut an 80th minute strike by Saka restored hope and fired the fighting spirit. When eventually the match dragged into penalties, Saka was again on hand to convert the third of the five penalties. In fact the Three Lions were fantastic in the penalties converting all the five shootouts with Palmer, Bellingham, Toney and Alexander-Arnold all on target.
An elated Saka who is one of the must play at the Emirates went philosophical in his post-match submission, if it were to be a paper it would have been titled “I believed in myself” and indeed he did.
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“You can fail once but you have a choice whether you put yourself in that position again or not. I’m a guy who is going to put myself in that position. I believed in myself. When I saw the ball hit the net, I was a very happy man”
Bukayo Saka said his penalty miss in the final of Euro 2020 against Italy was not in his thoughts when he stepped up against Switzerland. When he emerged player-of-the-match, it was indeed no surprise.
Reigning Champions Italy are already out just like host Germany and Portugal and Turkey and England are still forging ahead as they take on Netherlands who overcame Turkey in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Can the Gareth Southgate overcome Netherlands to play in back to back final where they will meet either France or Spain?
If they happen to overcome the Dutch a hurdle which is not likely to be a tea party, can they roar past three- time Champions Spain or France in the final depending on who emerges from the first semifinal clash billed for Tuesday at the Allianz Arena?
Ambitious Four To Settle Scores Tuesday And Wednesday
England’s performance on Saturday evening reveals a more determined side with added ambition. Ambition of course is free so England are not the only ambitious team in the last four, France, Spain and Netherlands all are, and at this stage it is fight to the finish.
Brilliant performance against Switzerland you will say, could that be an indication that the Three Lions are the next in line for the title? That will be revealed in the next 72 hours.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
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