It was not until the penalty shoot-out that England were in control. It was not until the whistle went, after 120 tough, nerve-shredding minutes that they took over.
In itself that makes this the most un-English of performances and of tournaments and maybe one that might, just might, end in winning a first trophy since 1966.
English entitlement? Not at all. They have not played consistently well in any of their five games so far, they have won only once in 90 minutes, they have been taken to extra-time by Slovakia and now penalties by Switzerland.
But they are there. They are still in it. They are in the semi-finals of the European Championship and, incredibly, Gareth Southgate has made the last four in three of his four tournaments as England manager. The other campaign ended in the quarters.
The criticism and the scrutiny and some legitimate questions – such as Harry Kane’s fitness, such as how reactive and slow Southgate was with his substitutions – will be asked. But give the guy a break. He won. Whatever way you cut it, England won.
And maybe that is all that really matters. We have carped on about performances, about making a statement, about entertaining, about playing better. But France are also in the semi-finals and they are yet to score a goal from open play.
Lucky Southgate? Maybe so. But you make your own luck in this game by being diligent and dogged and organised and prepared – and creating a positive environment in which there is a rare togetherness and grit and a never-say-die spirit. They did not play well. But neither did they freeze. In both knock-out ties here they have come from behind.
All five of England’s penalties were superb. Winning this shoot-out does not quite exorcise the demons of losing to Italy in the final of this competition three years ago but it goes a long way. The nation will take that for now.
For Southgate there was also vindication in bringing on Trent Alexander-Arnold with five minutes of extra-time to go and how he confidently thumped home the decisive fifth kick. Before that Cole Palmer, Ivan Toney – two other substitutes – and Jude Bellingham had scored.
So had Bukayo Saka and what a sweet moment of redemption for him – with Saka also England’s outstanding player and the scorer of an outstanding equaliser – after he was one of the three who had missed in 2021 against Italy at Wembley.
The other hero? That would be goalkeeper Jordan Pickford who delayed Manuel Akanji from taking Switzerland’s first penalty and then dived low to his left to save it. Southgate warned there might be another penalty shoot-out along the way and he was right.
And so England head to Dortmund on Wednesday and this most curious of campaigns continues. Once again Southgate was seconds away from his time as manager coming to an end – it would have been 100 games and out for him – but on he fights. And there he was deep amid the celebrations with his reactions reminiscent to that deliriously restorative campaign in Russia six years ago when the fans sang that he was the one rather than throwing beer cups.
Make no mistake Southgate has incredible reserves of resilience and transmits that to his team. Can the critics just lay off for once?
Queen’s Under Pressure was played over the Tannoy before the shoot-out and while that felt a little cruel it did not affect England. And this is England we are talking about – the serial chokers in shoot-outs until Southgate organised them to win against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup.
Here again their preparation was perfect even if they are not playing that way and the Swiss can legitimately claim that, over the piece, they may well have been the better side with the better chances. They even struck the crossbar in the dying seconds, direct from Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner, and fashioned two more opportunities after that.
But the Swiss are no roll-overs and England – or rather the fans and pundits – have to stop regarding other nations like that. They defeated Italy, the holders, in the last-16 and they were always going to be a tough nut to crack. Everyone joked beforehand that it would probably go to a penalty shoot-out and so it proved.
As expected, Southgate changed the formation and it looked like he was re-shaping England’s campaign because they did start well. They did dominate. They just could not create chances and Kane’s form, his apparent lack of fitness, is a worry. He was pocketed by Akanji before he eventually went off, late on.
The formation change, the three-at-the-back, evidently benefitted Saka who probably had his best game for England, at right wing-back. Saka scored a wonderful goal and later even filled in on the left.
Before that, though, there was much to ponder. Structurally England looked sound, with Kobbie Mainoo doing well in midfield, with the two number 10s of Bellingham and Phil Foden dovetailing and with Ezri Konsa comfortable on his first start on the left of defence.
But it did not last. And there is the rub. The momentum switched alarmingly and the warning signs were unmistakeable. Did Southgate hold his nerve or was he slow to react? Given Switzerland scored it had to be the latter as Dan Ndoye’s low cross went through Konsa’s legs and with John Stones only diverting it to Breel Embolo who stabbed it home.
Only then did Southgate turn to his bench and make a triple substitution. If England had lost he would have been pilloried on his way out the door. Instead they hit back with Saka cutting in and shooting low and powerfully into the far corner. Switzerland’s lead lasted just five minutes.
By then Luke Shaw was on – making his first appearance of the Euros after injury – on the left of defence, Eberechi Eze was at wing-back and Bellingham dropped in to replace Mainoo with Cole Palmer in. It was wild and open with Pickford allowing himself a smile as Shaqiri audaciously struck the bar. Soon that smile would be even broader.