England’s Euro 2024 campaign continued after a win over Switzerland in a penalty shootout qualified them for the semifinals of the tournament.

The Three Lions will now face Netherlands in the next stage, who beat Turkey 2-1 to book their ticket for the semis.

It was another laboured performance by Gareth Southgate’s men but ultimately, the results leave no room for doubt that England’s campaign so far has been a success.

Manchester United men Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, who have usually been a part of this success under Southgate are watching from the sidelines this time.

The win against Switzerland, and the way in which it was achieved, was a huge moment of redemption for a certain player and Sancho was quick to credit him for it.

Jadon Sancho’s message to club rival

After England’s win, Sancho posted a message for Arsenal man Bukayo Saka on his Instagram stories, saying he was “proud” of him and that he “did it for me and Marcus brother!”.

His message in full read: “I’m so proud of this guy [Bukayo Saka]! You did it for me and Marcus!”.

It is a reference back to the Euros in the 2021 final vs Italy when Saka, Rashford, and Sancho missed their penalties in the shootout against Italy.

The Italians won that shootout 3-2 and the trio was subjected to racial abuse on social media, leading to a swell of support from the clubs and people around the game.

This time, Saka was the only representative at the tournament for the trio and he dispatched his penalty with extreme confidence.

The result was also different this time, as England beat the Swiss 5-4 to advance, putting their demons behind them, a particularly sweet moment for Saka.

Sancho and Rashford await their moment

Saka has gone strength to strength from that moment onwards, leading Arsenal’s title charge in the last two season while Rashford and Sancho arguably went through their toughest moments in the game.

Sancho’s form fell off a cliff and he fell out with Erik ten Hag, leading to a mini-resurgence at Borussia Dortmund. It was not enough to make him a prized asset in this market and his future is again under question this summer.

Rashford, on the other hand, followed that Euros campaign with a world-class season in Ten Hag’s debut campaign but the same version was nowhere to be seen in his second year.

He was dropped from the English squad due to the same reason and will now be working towards getting back into it with the pre-season training set to begin on July 8.

Club rivalries aside, the pair can take confidence from Saka bouncing back from that harrowing episode and taking their game to the next level. It will only benefit United and themselves too.

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