Pressure is for tyres – Alan Shearer lauds England’s composure in shoot-out

Alan Shearer praised how England handled the pressure after they came through a penalty shoot-out against Switzerland to reach the Euro 2024 semi-finals.

England required spot-kicks to reach the last four after a 1-1 draw after extra time in Dusseldorf.

Bukayo Saka had scored England’s equaliser in the 80th minute after Breel Embolo had put the Swiss ahead five minutes earlier.

Saka then held his nerve from the spot as England prevailed in 5-3 in the shoot-out, with Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold also successful and Jordan Pickford saving from Manuel Akanji.

Former England captain Shearer told BBC Sport: “Palmer, Bellingham, Saka, Toney, Trent. Pressure? What pressure?

“Pressure is for tyres! It’s a different generation. They don’t feel it.

“How confident were they? They had the belief. They somehow found the energy to get themselves into the semi-final.”

Shearer also felt manager Gareth Southgate – who missed when England lost on penalties to Germany in Euro 96 – deserved a lot of credit.

He said: “They’ll be absolutely ecstatic and so they should because they have put an incredible shift in.

“A big shout-out to the manager because he has missed a penalty, he knows what it feels like. He also knows the other side, in terms of being a manager.

“His preparation was absolutely key. The players he brought on to take penalties were just perfect.

“We know how pressurised that situation is and they made it look so easy.

“We’ve been wanting a performance. They could still do better but they’re through – that’s the main thing.”

Former England striker Gary Lineker, whose criticism of the team earlier in the tournament made headlines, felt the players could be proud this time.

Lineker said: