Manchester United forward Jadon Sancho sent a heartwarming message to Arsenal star Bukayo Saka following his sensational performance for England against Switzerland.
England beat Switzerland on penalties to advance to the semi-finals of Euro 2024, where they will face the Netherlands later this week.
Switzerland took the lead through Breel Embolo but their advantage was cancelled soon after by Saka, who produced a stunning strike. The match would go on to be settled via a penalty shootout, with Saka being one of five penalty-takers who all converted from the spot-kick.
The composure demonstrated by Saka and his Three Lions teammates was a marked move from their heartbreaking loss at the hands of Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
On that occasion, Saka, Sancho and Marcus Rashford all suffered horrific racist abuse after they missed their penalties. Some individuals even received jail sentences for their online slurs.
After Saka was given the Man of the Match award, Sancho sent a lovely message to the 22-year-old Arsenal man.
Sancho wrote on Instagram, “I’m so proud of this guy! Bukayo Saka you did it for me and Marcus brother!”
Saka responded, “My boys!”
Saka spoke to ITV Sport after England’s victory vs. Switzerland and remarked, “We all know what happened at the last Euros.”
“But I just wanted to show everyone that things could go wrong, but you have two choices. Today I believed I could do it, and that’s all you have to do. I have the quality and I scored. So I hope that’s a good lesson for a lot of people.”
“You can fail once. But you have a choice whether you put yourself in that position again”
Inspirational from Bukayo Saka 👏#Euro2024 | #ENGSUI pic.twitter.com/aVRHhIjOkt
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2024
Both Sancho and Rashford were left out of the England squad by Gareth Southgate.
In the case of Rashford specifically, the Three Lions boss insisted that other players had done more than him to secure their spot in the team.
