Captain Harry Kane proud of England after Swiss penalty win

Akanji disappointed after his penalty miss see England reach semi finals  06/07/2024  Dusseldorf Arena, Germany

Transcript

00:00How special does it feel to be through to a semi-final?

00:05Unbelievable. A rollercoaster of emotions again. Credit to the boys, proud of the boys for the way

00:12we come back after going 1-0 behind so late on in the game. We've done what we've been doing

00:17throughout the whole tournament, we're finding a way to get through. The boys on the pitch for

00:21the penalties were outstanding. A 5 out of 5, a save from Pickers like he always seems to do in

00:26a shootout. A proud night for us and another semi-final to look forward to.

00:31How tough is it for you to sit and watch England take penalties?

00:35New experience for sure, but I was actually really calm. I see the way we prepare,

00:39I see the players on the pitch. We've got a lot of players who have taken penalties now and

00:43in high-pressure situations, penalty takers for their clubs as well.

00:48I just think in those moments it's down to preparation, handling the situation,

00:51who can do that the best and who can execute when it really matters. You saw all the boys

00:57who stepped up today, plus Pickers, done that, so really proud of them.

01:01I need to ask you about Bukayo Saka, because we all were there at Wembley three years ago

01:06and know what he went through and how he was treated.

01:09Came to get man of the match, score the equaliser and then score that penalty.

01:15Yeah, what a performance. I think the whole game, to be honest,

01:19playing in a position that he's played before but not used to playing.

01:23He was our real outlet with the ball. He caused problems the whole game,

01:28got the goal that he fully deserved with a fantastic finish, got us back in the game when

01:31we needed it most. But then without the ball as well, the work he put in, the shift he put in,

01:36the blocks, the tackles, even up until the 120th minute and then to step up in the way he did.

01:42Obviously, I know the mentality that he's got and I knew he would be comfortable in that

01:46situation, even though what happened in the past, he prepares really well for moments like that

01:52and he executed it perfectly. So, a fantastic night for him and he fully deserves it.

01:56You've had some tricky times in the games to get to here,

01:59but that felt like England's best performance. What does it do for belief from here,

02:03especially after the circumstances of the last 16 and the quarter-final that you've gone through?

02:07Yeah, it was definitely our best performance. I think the system caused them problems and

02:12we got on the ball more, we played in their final third more.

02:15Still just left a bit of end product. But, yeah, tournaments are tough, these games are tough,

02:21you have to find a way to get through them. So, I think the longer we go in the competition in

02:26the manner that we're doing, it just gives us more and more belief that we're finding

02:29ways to win and that's an important factor in big competition. So, we're enjoying it,

02:34we're enjoying the ride, we're proud to be in another semi-final because we know how much it

02:38means to everyone back home watching as well. So, yeah, we want to do everyone proud and

02:43that'll be no different on Wednesday.