- Lineker was pleased to see Saka score a penalty after missing his goal in the Euro 2020 final
- He compared it to what it felt like watching Stuart Pearce score at Euro ’96.
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Gary Lineker admitted that watching Bukayo Saka and Trent Alexander-Arnold score in the penalty shoot-out against Switzerland made him shed a tear (or two).
Saka, who had also scored England’s 80th-minute equaliser against the Swiss earlier in the match, stepped up to coolly take a penalty in the ensuing shoot-out.
The 22-year-old winger has been praised for his bravery after missing the decisive penalty in the Euro 2020 final against Italy, which effectively lost England the tournament.
Lineker says watching Saka’s penalty reminded him of Euro 1996, evoking the same emotions he felt watching Stuart Pearce score in the shoot-out in England’s quarter-final win over Spain.
Talking to Alan Shearer and Micah Richards about the Rest is footballLineker said: “It reminded me a lot of the Stuart Pearce moment. Pearce was lost in 1990 when I was playing.”
Bukayo Saka scored the equaliser against the Swiss in the 80th minute and the subsequent penalty.
Gary Lineker said watching Saka score his penalty made him “cry tears of joy”
Lineker said he felt a similar thrill watching Stuart Pearce score a penalty at Euro ’96.
“I know Stuart, you know Stuart. He’s an amazing guy and a wonderful football player.
‘Then we played Spain, in a penalty shoot-out, at Euro 96. And he stepped up again. I was in the crowd thinking: please, please, score, don’t miss.
‘Everyone in the crowd was thinking the same thing, the silence was palpable. When that hit, I cried. I sat there crying in the crowd, tears of joy.
“But to come back, a lad who had also scored to equalise, and then do that… it’s incredible!”
Lineker also had similar praise for Alexander-Arnold, saying he “felt like he’d been left a bit abandoned”.
“The other time I got a bit emotional was seeing Trent (Alexander-Arnold) come in,” he continued.
Saka’s penalty completes a redemption arc, after missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final
Trent Alexander-Arnold stepped up to take a penalty after enduring a torrid Euros to date
“They put him in that midfield position when the team was a bit disjointed, it wasn’t cohesive. They were all over the place, and they took him off and blamed him for it.
“I was very happy to see him come in and score the winning penalty.”
England will be hoping to repeat their Euro 2020 heroics of reaching the final by beating the Netherlands in the semi-final on Wednesday.