Manuel Akanji breaks silence on missed penalty against England at Euro 2024

Manuel Akanji says he “let his country down” after his penalty miss helped England beat Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.

Switzerland were on course to send the Three Lions home early on Saturday after Breel Embolo’s late goal but Bukayo Saka quickly equalised.

The match went to extra time and then to penalties, with Akanji stepping up to take his team’s first penalty, but his low effort was saved by Jordan Pickford.

It was the only defeat of the penalty shootout as England won 5-3 to progress to the Euro semi-finals where they will face the Netherlands on Wednesday night.

It was heartbreaking for the Swiss, who were on the verge of reaching the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time in their history.

It was too much for Akanji, who was consoled by captain Granit Xhaka, as well as England stars Phil Foden, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Cole Palmer, who play or have played with the defender at Manchester City.

Speaking afterwards, the 28-year-old said, as quoted by the Mirror“I let my team down and I let my country down.”

But Switzerland coach Murat Yakin fiercely defended his player, revealing that Akanji had volunteered to play first in the penalty shootout and praising him for doing so.

“You give responsibility to your players, and you can’t be angry with them afterwards – players who played a fantastic tournament, especially Manu,” the 49-year-old said in his post-match press conference.

“What can you say to him? Well, there are not many words to console him. It doesn’t matter, no. I thanked him for his performance, and also for the way he led the team, for his performance. It was really of the highest level.

“Of course, there is a deep emptiness, a deep sadness. But it is the kind of sadness that everyone, every individual, has to overcome.

“It’s unbelievable. But these moments are part of the job. It’s a missed penalty. And now he doesn’t need to worry about it anymore when you see how he played, the responsibility he carried on his shoulders.”

As Yakin puts it, Akanji played brilliantly throughout the tournament, helping his team beat defending champions Italy in the round of 16 and come very close to beating hosts Germany in the group stage.

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