Goalkeeper’s cheat sheet saves England in dramatic Euros penalty shootout

England are through to the semi-finals of the Euros, thanks largely to their goalkeeper’s secret tactics in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Jordan Pickford's penalty shootout cheat sheet helped save England.

England are through to the semi-finals of the Euros in large part thanks to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, as the Three Lions defeated Switzerland in a dramatic quarterfinal.

After drawing 1-1 after 120 minutes, England sealed a 5-3 win on penalties to book their place in a semi-final against the Netherlands.

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Eagle-eyed fans spotted Pickford’s penalty heroics were aided by a shootout cheat sheet on his water bottle.

His notes correctly predicted he would need to dive left to block Switzerland defender — Akanji was the only Swiss player to miss a penalty and England’s players nailed theirs.

Pickford went the right way for two of the four spot kicks he faced, narrowly failing to keep Xherdan Shaqiri.

And he followed what was written on his bottle for both of those penalties — “dive left”.

For Fabian Schar’s kick, he faked to dive left and then went right, the opposite to the instruction on his bottle.

Jordan Pickford of England looks at his Powerade bottle, as he reads a list of penalty takers and their assumed directions, during the penalty shootout against Switzerland.. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

His notes were spot on. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

But Schar actually did what Pickford had planned for and coolly slotted home.

Zeki Amdouni was the only Swiss player to opt for a different penalty to what England had planned for, sending his down the middle as Pickford dived left.

Fans noticed Pickford was using delaying tactics before every penalty, which seemed to put Akanji off.

Pickford was using out every trick in the book, pulling shocked facial expression with his mouth agape before every Switzerland penalty.

Pickford’s face before the Switzerland players take their penalties 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/i9gyuoWXZQ

— Footy Humour (@FootyHumour) July 6, 2024

Study for a Portrait, by Francis Bacon, 1952, 📸 via @MenInBlazerspic.twitter.com/739yiJ7PFq

— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) July 6, 2024

One save was all it took for Pickford as Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold all converted with unwavering assurance.

It adds to Pickford’s already impressive penalty record with England.

He saved one in the shootout against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, before saving and scoring against Switzerland the following year.

Pickford was the hero as England went through. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

He even saved two against Italy in the Euros final in 2021, only for England to end up losing.

Pickford spoke about that pedigree in penalty shootouts ahead of the Switzerland game.

“History of winning major tournaments shows that you’ve got to go into extra time, maybe win a penalty shootout,” he said.

“It was the Nations League for third place and the bronze medal but you’ve got to learn from them experiences and take them experiences into major tournaments.

“It was a good feeling back then to get them experiences under our belt.”

Pickford saved the day for England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

One of his unusual facial expressions. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Asked if he would take another against Switzerland if required, he added: “I will step up. I’m not the manager but I will practise and I will be prepared.

“We know they are a very good side, they’ve just knocked out the reigning champions [Italy] and are playing some very good football so they aren’t going to be a team we’re taking lightly.

“We’re going to have to prepare fully for it and that is what we will be ready for.”

In the semi-finals, Spain face France on Wednesday (AEDT) and England will play the Netherlands on Thursday (AEDT).

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Goalkeeper’s cheat sheet saves England in dramatic Euros penalty shootout