Penalties were required to separate England and Switzerland.
There, the “Three Lions” put all their penalty kicks and the only one who bogged down in Switzerland was Manuel Akanji. He did so by trying to place the ball in one corner, but Jordan Pickford went in the right direction and saved.
The Manchester City star is disappointed with himself.
– I’m disappointed. I feel like I let my country and my teammates down. I tried to take responsibility, but the punishment wasn’t good enough. The goalkeeper saved it, says the defender to Fotbollskanalen.
Before the penalty, Pickford waited out Akanji to psych him up.
– It didn’t bother me. They tried some psyching, but I didn’t look at him. I focus on my penalty kick. I have to be honest, it wasn’t good enough. If you put it in the right corner it doesn’t have to be that good, but even if he went in the right direction I would do better. It wasn’t all the way to the corner. He saved it, says Akanji to the Football Channel.
Akanji scored the first penalty in the drama.
– I wanted it. I felt confident and have taken a lot of penalties during the tournament, in practice and so on. I had a good feeling, but it didn’t go in.
