Alan Shearer claims Gareth Southgate ‘learnt from his mistakes’ after the last Euros as he praises the one key change the England manager made for the penalty-shootout against Switzerland

Alan Shearer was very impressed with the attitude of the England players during the penalty shootout against Switzerland on Saturday.

England won 5-4 on penalties after the Euro 2024 quarter-final had ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.

This was the fourth penalty shootout England have competed in since Gareth Southgate became head coach in 2016.

England have won three of those shoot-outs: against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, against Switzerland in the 2019 Nations League final and then against the same opponents at the European Championship last Saturday.

But the Three Lions lost 4-3 to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2020 final.

Two of the three England players who missed the match against Italy were on the pitch for just seconds before the shoot-out, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho being substituted in injury time.

Saturday’s victory over Switzerland came 1,121 days after England lost on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, after misses from substitutes Jadon Sancho (No. 17) and Marcus Rashford (No. 11).

On Saturday, Southgate again made changes with penalties in mind. This time, however, he made the changes earlier, allowing the likes of Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold to touch the ball multiple times before stepping to the spot.

Former England captain Shearer, who was involved in three penalty shootouts during his international career, winning one and losing two, was quick to praise Southgate for the change in approach.

Shearer said Betfair: ‘The English penalty shootout had everything, great attitude, great penalties, you have to take everything. Even [goalkeeper] Jordan Pickford with the way he did his homework. Pickford and the penalty takers made it look like it was a piece of cake, which it never is.

“I can’t tell you the pressure and stress you feel when a game goes to penalties. Every penalty was almost perfect. Looking at Ivan Toney’s penalty, he stared at the keeper and didn’t even look at the ball. You have to be brave to do that.

‘Gareth Southgate was criticised against Italy at Euro 2020 and that was because he brought his penalty takers on with only a few minutes to go, while giving players like Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold enough time to get involved in the game. So I think Gareth has learned from his mistakes.

‘It worked out perfectly, but I think there is still a lot more to gain in terms of performance.’

Southgate made his substitutions a little earlier on Saturday, including bringing on Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold (left) in the 25th minute of extra time for a penalty shootout

Alexander-Arnold then scored the winning penalty for England, knocking out Switzerland

Alan Shearer (pictured) praised Southgate for making his substitutions earlier this time

England will play the Netherlands on Wednesday, with the winner of that match playing Spain or France in the final on Sunday.

Speaking about Wednesday’s game, Shearer added: “It’s going to be a great occasion. The fans in Dusseldorf were incredible. My son came to watch the game with his mates and he said how great the atmosphere was.

“The England fans have been great and they will be great on Wednesday. I’m not against England at all. I think they’ll find a way and they can go one better in terms of performance.

‘It could be another stressful, long evening, but I think England will win this match comfortably.’