Manuel Akanji has taken the blame for Switzerland’s Euro 2024 quarter-final exit after his penalty miss in the shootout against England.
The Manchester City defender of Nigerian heritage was saddled with the responsibility of taking the Red Crosses first spot kick after the game ended 1-1 in extra time.
Akanji however failed to put the ball past Jordan Pickford which proved costly as England converted all their penalties to win the shootout 5-4 and move into the semi-finals.
“Yes, I mean, the disappointment is big now. It feels like I let the team down, my whole country down. I tried to take responsibility, I had a good feeling that I would score but, yes, I shot in the wrong corner, I didn’t shoot it precisely enough,” Akanji said after the game.
He added: “I didn’t look at him [Pickford]. I don’t know what he did. All I know is that when I walked up and placed the ball on the penalty spot he wasn’t in goal, but I didn’t look at him. I don’t know what he was doing, so I don’t know.”
Proud of this team ❤️🩹🇨🇭#natimiteuch #lanatiavecvous #lanaticonvoi #lanaticunvus #euro2024 pic.twitter.com/40uJDV2clv
— 🇨🇭 Nati (@nati_sfv_asf) July 6, 2024
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka however consoled Akanji, asserting the 28-year-old will recover from the disappointment and come back stronger.
“Of course, he’s disappointed. It is part of the game, but I told him as well that this penalty will not be his first and last one he will miss,” the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder stated.
“He’s a young guy with a big personality who did a lot of good things in his career. He’s played a big, big tournament and I’m sure that he will be back stronger than ever. And, this is part of the game, but penalties as well are a little bit of luck.”
Switzerland’s quarter-final exit equals their best performance at the Euros from the previous edition in 2021 when they lost to Spain on penalties.
