(Dan Tri) - Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford helped England defeat Switzerland in a penalty shootout thanks to a document printed on a water bottle noting his opponent's penalty kick habits.

Highlights England beat Switzerland on penalties in Euro 2024 quarter-finals

After England and Switzerland drew in 120 minutes of regulation time and extra time, the two teams were forced to decide the winner in a penalty shootout in the Euro 2024 quarter-final on the evening of July 6 (Vietnam time) at the Dusseldorf Arena. However, England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford seemed to be more prepared when he brought a water bottle with a note about the penalty habits of Swiss players. England took the penalty shootout first and Cole Palmer successfully converted the first penalty kick for the Three Lions.

Meanwhile, in Switzerland's first penalty shootout, defender Manuel Akanji failed to beat goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, and this was also the only missed kick in the "shootout" between the two teams. Notably, on the water bottle that goalkeeper Pickford carried when making the penalty save for England, there was a note on how to block Akanji's 11m penalty: "Dive to the left". This instruction finally came in handy when Akanji indeed shot to the right of the goal, meaning Pickford dived to the left, making it easy to block.

Pickford followed the instructions on his water bottle for three of Switzerland's four penalties, only missing one, the second by Fabian Schar. The instructions on the bottle had instructed Pickford to "fake right, dive left" but he ended up doing the opposite and the Newcastle defender smashed the ball into the net. Had Pickford followed his notes, he would have likely saved. Next up for Pickford was former Liverpool player Xherdan Shaqiri. This time Pickford decided to follow the advice printed on his bottle. He dived left, Shaqiri also shot in the same direction but Shaqiri's shot was too powerful and Pickford was beaten. Pickford's final penalty opponent was Zeki Amdouni and although he failed to save, the notes on his water bottle were again correct. The notes advised Pickford to 'stay still, dive left, shoot low', the Everton goalkeeper followed the instructions but although the 'low shot' was correct, the direction was wrong as the Burnley midfielder opted to shoot towards the centre of the goal.

According to statistics, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has successfully saved 4/14 penalties he has faced in penalty shootouts at major tournaments, twice as many as all England goalkeepers from 1990 to 2012 combined (2 times). This is also the first time that England's strikers have successfully saved 5/5 penalties in a penalty shootout. Previously, in the match against Spain at Euro 1996, the Three Lions also had a 100% success rate but they only won 4/4. After the victory over Switzerland, England will face the Netherlands in the semi-finals on July 11.

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Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bi-quyet-giup-jordan-pickford-tro-thanh-nguoi-hung-cua-doi-tuyen-anh-20240707081824396.htm