Trent Alexander-Arnold sent England into the Euro 2024 semi-finals after Jordan Pickford proved the hero in a 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory over Switzerland following a 1-1 draw in Dusseldorf.
Gareth Southgate's side suffered shoot-out heartbreak in the final of the last European Championship edition but banished those demons on Saturday.
Pickford denied Switzerland's first penalty from Manuel Akanji, with England – notorious for their penalty struggles – remaining perfect from 12 yards as Alexander-Arnold converted the decisive spot-kick.
Breel Embolo had earlier opened the scoring late in the second half but Bukayo Saka levelled soon after, before Pickford's decisive save set up a last-four clash with either the Netherlands or Turkiye on Wednesday.
With Southgate reverting to a three-man defence that brought so much success at previous international tournaments, England improved from the off but lacked a cutting edge.
Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden were allowed the freedom of Dusseldorf Arena in the early stages, while Saka had the beating of Michel Aebischer whenever he pleased.
Saka dribbled past the Swiss wing-back five times in the first half, the most one player has beaten another in a single match at this tournament.
Yet for all of the Three Lions' promise in attack, they failed to make it count as Kobbie Mainoo came closest, only to see the ball taken off his toes by Granit Xhaka.
Both sides failed to register a shot on target in the opening half, but Embolo only needed five minutes after the interval to test Pickford having turned Ezri Konsa.
Switzerland continued to tighten their grip on the contest, with Aebischer wasting a glorious opportunity as the ball fell kindly to him on the edge of the area.
Murat Yakin's side snatched their deserved reward in the 75th minute, though, as Dan Ndoye's teasing delivery slipped past the stretching John Stones for Embolo to slide in the opener.
That Swiss joy was short-lived, however, as the introduction of Luke Shaw, Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze sparked England into life just five minutes after falling behind.
Declan Rice offloaded to his right before Saka was afforded too much room to cut inside and curl a left-footed effort from the perimeter of the area in via the help of Yann Sommer's right-hand post.
England threatened to make another fast start in extra time, as they did in the last 16 against Slovakia, but Rice saw his attempt saved by Yann Sommer.
Yet Switzerland would go closest in the additional 30 minutes when Xherdan Shaqiri's audacious corner-kick struck the woodwork, before Zeki Amdouni fizzed straight at Pickford, who proved the hero shortly after.
Palmer slotted in the opening penalty before Pickford guessed the right way, diving low to his left to push away Akanji's timid spot-kick from the Swiss' first effort.
Both England and Switzerland converted every attempt from then on, yet Pickford's smart stop paved the way for Alexander-Arnold to whip into the top-left corner and send England into the last four.
England show nerves of steel on the big stage
The Three Lions' record on penalties at major tournaments is well known, but this is not a normal England team of yesteryear.
England had lost more shoot-outs than any other nation across the World Cup and Euros (seven), while at this competition had both the worst win rate (20% – 1/5) and the worst conversion rate (69% – 18/26).
Yet for just the second time in their 10th shoot-out at a major tournament, England scored every single one of their penalties (5/5), also doing so against Spain at Euro 1996 (4/4).
This win also marks another milestone for England, who have now won 50 of their 117 matches at major international tournaments, becoming only the sixth European nation to reach that half-century milestone.
Switzerland out in the cruellest of circumstances
It was yet more heartache for Switzerland, who bowed out of the competition in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Embolo scored his fifth goal at a major tournament for Switzerland – only Xherdan Shaqiri (10) and Josef Hugi (six) have more for the Swiss across the World Cup and Euros.
Switzerland have now been eliminated in all five of their major tournament quarter-final appearances: at the 934, 1938 and 1954 World Cups, and Euro 2020 and 2024.
However, Yakin's side have proved they have the ability to compete with the best, and they will be confident of going further in the major tournaments to come.
Havertz out of Germany squad with knee injury
Kai Havertz has pulled out of Germany's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches due to a knee injury.
The Arsenal forward played a full 90 minutes in their comeback win over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, netting their first goal.
He became the first player to score in seven consecutive home appearances for the Gunners in all competitions since Robin van Persie between December 2011 and March 2012 (also a run of seven).
Havertz has made a stellar start to the campaign, netting six goals in all competitions so far, also getting one assist.
However, he will not be available to face Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to his injury, and it is not yet clear if it will keep him sidelined for Arsenal after the international break.
"Kai Havertz will miss the upcoming international matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to knee problems," Germany announced on X.
"National team coach Julian Nagelsmann has nominated Jonathan Burkardt in Havertz's place. Get well soon Kai."
Liverpool edge Tottenham in thriller as injury-hit Everton hold Arsenal
Arsenal missed the chance to keep pace with Women's Super League leaders Manchester City on Sunday, but Liverpool grabbed the standout result.
Liverpool edged Tottenham 3-2 thanks to Marie-Therese Hobinger's last-gasp penalty.
Having netted her first goal of the season in the 75th minute, Hobinger doubled up to win it for the Reds deep in stoppage time.
Ashleigh Neville fouled Sophie Roman Haug, and Hobinger made no mistake to seal Liverpool's first win of the season.
Neville had turned provider for Tottenham's second equaliser of the game at Gaughan Group Stadium, when she crossed for Clare Hunt to score in the 83rd minute.
Liverpool took the lead early on through Cornelia Kapocs, before Taylor Hinds' own goal handed Spurs a leveller.
The Reds' Merseyside rivals Everton, meanwhile, frustrated Arsenal by holding the Gunners to a 0-0 draw.
Everton have been hit by serious knee injuries to Inma Gabarro and Aurora Galli this season, but the Toffees showed plenty of resilience to pick up their first point of the campaign at Emirates Stadium.
Emily Fox went closest for Arsenal when she hit the post early in the first half, but in spite of having 21 shots, the Gunners accumulated only 0.74 expected goals (xG).
Annabel Blanchard, meanwhile, netted twice to propel Crystal Palace to their first victory of the season, as they beat Leicester City 2-0.
Earlier in the day, Man City defeated West Ham 2-0.
Emery: Villa 'missed some energy' in Man Utd stalemate
Unai Emery believes Aston Villa "missed some energy" during their goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The spoils were shared following an underwhelming 90 minutes at Villa Park, where the hosts recorded their second stalemate in as many Premier League games after last weekend's 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town.
Villa were aiming to build on their memorable Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday but only registered a single shot on target courtesy of Youri Tielemans' second-half attempt.
And Emery believes his side's midweek exploits in Europe took their toll on Sunday.
"It is not the best result, but it's not the worst," the Villa boss said. "I think a draw is fair.
"We played the second half much better than the first and, at the end, we were close to winning the match [when Diogo Dalot blocked Jaden Philogene's stoppage-time shot]. We tried to score, but couldn't.
"We missed some energy. Maybe it's because we have some players injured, some other players are also still improving."
It was the first 0-0 draw Villa have played out under Emery at Villa Park since he took over in November 2022. Although they could not achieve the three points, they remain fifth in the Premier League table with 14 points after their opening seven games.
After opening their Champions League campaign with successive wins, and a Carabao Cup last-16 clash with Crystal Palace coming up later this month, Emery is pleased with the shape his side are in.
"We are in the process of building a team," he added. "We are managing things better. I am happy. We could be higher in the table, but we are more or less in the top six. I am happy with what we are doing.
"We are happy in the Champions League and happy, of course, in the Carabao Cup. We're going to play seven matches in the next month. We have to stay competitive like we are now and be demanding."
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