England Once Again Advances After Atrocious Euros Performance

England is through to the semifinals of the 2024 Euros, after a penalty shootout win over Switzerland.

But as is so often the case, the headline doesn't cover the details of the story. England once again trailed late in the match, going down in the 75th minute after a fantastic, much deserved goal from Switzerland.

Just five minutes later though, against the run of play, England scored to equalize from well outside the box.

The team clung to a tie through 90 minutes, despite being thoroughly outplayed. Switzerland's expected goals were 1.21, compared to England's 0.52. Such is soccer.

It got worse in extra time. Virtually all of the chances went to Switzerland, including a near miss on a corner kick from Xherdan Shaqiri. 

After the 30 minutes of extra time, Switzerland's expected scoring advantage grew from +0.69 to +0.83. But England escaped, again, forcing their way to a penalty shootout. And after a Jordan Pickford save, slotted home all five chances to secure the win.

GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - JUNE 30: Harry Kane of England celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammate Jude Bellingham during the UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16 match between England and Slovakia at Arena AufSchalke on June 30, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

England Underperforming With World Class Talent, Still Advancing

At no point in the 2024 Euros has England looked like the pre-tournament favorites it's supposed to be. The team was definitively outplayed by Slovakia in a previous match, then even more comprehensively outplayed Saturday by Switzerland. 

Per Transfermrkt, England has the most valuable national team in international competitions. Stars at every position, Jude Bellingham, perhaps the most valuable player in the world, Phil Foden, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer and of course, Harry Kane. It's a wealth of talent. 

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Yet it's essentially only a favorable draw in the tournament keeping England alive. On one side of the bracket sat Portugal, Germany, France, Spain and Belgium. On the other, Slovakia, Romania, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey. Even the massive talent advantage it was handed on a silver platter, England have failed to impress.

But it's the mark of top teams to survive and advance, and that's what England have done.

The reward for mediocrity is a date with the winner of Netherlands-Turkey, while Spain and France battle it out on the other half of the bracket. It's almost certainly not coming home, and based on how England has played, it absolutely shouldn't.