Bukayo Saka says he is proud of himself after stepping up to the penalty spot to help send England through to the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
Saka scored a stunning equaliser against Switzerland to level the score at 1-1 before tucking away his penalty in the shoot-out as England scored all of their spot kicks to set up a semi-final clash against either the Netherlands or Turkey.
The Arsenal winger missed the crucial spot kick in the final of Euro 2020 against Italy and says he is proud of the resilience he has shown to take on the responsibility again this time around.
“Last time we had a penalty shoot out at the Euros we all know what happened,” Saka told the BBC.
“I’m so proud of everyone that we got over the line.
“I believed. I felt like we dominated the game and that the chance would come and it did come, and I was the one that did take it so I’m proud of myself as well.
“To come back from something like that was really difficult but I used it to make me stronger and today I took the chance so I’m happy.”
It took England extra time to beat Slovakia in the round of 16 and a penalty shoot-out against Switzerland but Saka says it shows the character of the team to keep going.
“I think it shows how much we want to win this tournament,” he said.
“The last two games, we’ve been 1-0 down in the late stages and we came back.
“Hopefully next game we can win in 90 minutes but if this is what it takes then we’ll do anything.”
FEATURED IMAGE: RICHARD PELHAM/GETTY IMAGES VIA ONE FOOTBALL
