Trent Alexander-Arnold insists he 'ENJOYED' England's penalty shootout pressure - as defender declares 'when the gaffer tells me I’m taking one, my belly doesn’t drop' after match winning Euro 2024 spot kick

• e-mail

Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed that practice made perfect for England in their penalty shootout victory over Switzerland in the European Championship semi-finals.

The Liverpool star came off the bench in the second-half of extra-time to take a penalty during the shoot-out. 

The 25-year-old smashed the decisive spot kick into the top left corner after Manuel Akanji missed Switzerland's first penalty.

Alexander-Arnold had been brought on by Gareth Southgate specifically to take a penalty, a decision which paid dividends as he scored after Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Ivan Toney had also netted scored. 

'It’s what we practice,' he said. 'A lot of practice goes into that moment. They are moments I enjoy.

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the decisive penalty in England's victory over Switzerland

The Liverpool star said that 'practice' was crucial to England's perfect penalty shootout 

Alexander-Arnold said he 'enjoys' the pressure of penalty shootouts and that his 'belly doesn’t drop' in those high risk moments after his spot kick sent England into the Euros semi-finals 

'When the gaffer tells me I’m taking one, my belly doesn’t drop, I enjoy it, I practice it. 

'I knew my spot, I knew I needed to execute it, I went out and did that. All five penalties were great.' 

England now face a semi-final showdown against a Netherlands side that features Alexander-Arnold's Liverpool team-mates Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk. 

After overcoming the penalty shoot-out, Alexander-Arnold was under no illusions about just how close these knockout games can be.

'Both quarter-finals on Friday went to extra time too. These games are tight margins but we've been able to win.

'These are the goals and aims we set for ourselves. It was a difficult opponent again, going behind. The team showed a lot of character, a lot of belief and heart and spirit. We dug deep when it mattered most.

'We knew it was going to be tight, we were never going to run away with the game, although that would have been nice.'

The 25-year-old celebrated with friends and family after the match - and was overheard saying 'he didn't want to take one' in a video which has gone viral.

His comment has raised debate over who didn't want to take a penalty with fans honing in on two players who they think Alexander-Arnold was talking about, England captain Harry Kane and Man City star Phil Foden.

A labouring Kane didn't take a penalty as he was subbed off by Gareth Southgate for Ivan Toney who scored his spot kick in his typically nonchalant style. 

Southgate backed Alexander-Arnold's mettle to take to the decisive penalty kick

A substituted Kane rushed onto the field to embrace Alexander-Arnold after his penalty and later praised the 'proven penalty takers' in England's squad for stepping up when needed

Watching on from the sideline, England's usual penalty taker Kane recognised the nervousness of the situation and praised the penalty takers in the squad for staying calm.

He said: 'There were a few hearts skipping a beat out there. It was another tough game. 

'It was great resilience from the lads, to go behind with 15 minutes to go and to turn it up a gear and get the goal like we did.

'The difference between this year and past years is that we’ve got proven penalty takers with Ivan Toney, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka. We had a lot more experience in that sense and they showed it out there.'