⚽️ UEFA European Championship - Euro 2024 Update For July 7th: England Bests Switzerland in Penalty Shootout, While Netherlands Survives Scare & Defeats Türkiye ⚽️

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England knocked off Switzerland in the first quarterfinal yesterday. But they sure did not have an easy time of it.

Swiss forward Breel Embolo made sure that the Swiss struck first, getting a goal in the 75th minute to out his sie up, 1-0. It was late in the game, and that had broken a scoreless tie to that point. 

However, the English did have an answer, to their credit. English right winger Bukayo Saka broke through to score the tying goal for England just minutes after, in the 80th minute.

Neither side managed to score another goal for the duration of regulation or extra time, which of course meant a penalty kick shootout. Once there, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji missed his penalty kick, giving England a golden opportunity which they capitalized in. The English won the penalty shootout, 5-3, to survive and move onto the semifinal round. 

In the other semifinal, it looked like Türkiye might truly be the Cinderella story of this Euro tournament after Samet Akaydin netted a goal in the 35th minute to put the Turkish side up, 1-0. The defense made that stand up for the duration of the first half, and Netherlands clearly had to regroup during halftime. 

Netherlands clearly were determined to show what they were capable of, and Stefan de Vrij broke through in the 70th minute, tying the game at 1-1.

The Dutch side kept the pressure up, and just six minutes later, Turkish defender Mert Müldür accidentally scored an Own Goal after unsuccessfully trying to clear the scoring chance for Netherlands. 

Just like that, Netherlands were up, and close to victory. And the guys in orange did manage to successfully kill off the remaining time, and Turkish opportunities for a tying goal, as they hung on for the win. 

So now, the semifinal matches are set. Spain and France will meet in the first semifinal on Tuesday, the 9th of July. The next day, Netherlands will take on England. The winners of those two games will earn the right to play in the Euro final or the title a week from today, on Sunday, the 14th of July. 

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