Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin says his side do not deserve to be heading home from Euro 2024 and that England had luck on their side.
The Three Lions advanced to the semi-finals after winning a penalty shootout, as Jordan Pickford saved the only of the nine efforts on goal.
There had been a risk of Gareth Southgate’s men going home after they went 1-0 down with 15 minutes to go, courtesy of a Breel Embolo strike.
But Bukayo Saka hit back minutes later, crashing one in off the post.
Yakin assessed the game with the media afterwards and said Switzerland created more chances than the 2020 finalists.
He said: “It hurts. We put so much effort in, created so many chances.
Xhaka 🤝 Saka #EURO2024 | #ENGSUI pic.twitter.com/sD6JO23rfU
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 6, 2024
“I’m sad for the lads, and for the nation. England didn’t have many chances and we created quite a few of our own.
“We don’t deserve to be going home but we can be really proud.
“We don’t need to hide any more. We were eliminated because it wasn’t quite enough today.
“A penalty shoot-out is a matter of luck and we didn’t have it.
“We have caused the big teams a lot of problems so we exit with our heads held high.”
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Granit Xhaka led by example again for Switzerland, but could not extend his incredible campaign since moving to Germany.
Yakin revealed the former Arsenal midfielder is not fully fit and hailed him for playing against the odds.
He added: “He has been playing hurt. He suffered it early against Italy and hasn’t trained much this week. #
“For me it’s a miracle that he played today. It speaks of his character and will.
“At certain moments he wasn’t able to play those long passes but he deserves so much credit.”
