Euro 2020: Spain defeats Switzerland, books berth in last four

InSpain’s jubilant players sprinted onto the field to celebrate a penalty-shootout victory at the European Championship, Luis Enrique stood alone and simply pumped his fists. Amid the tension and rising pressure inside Saint Petersburg Stadium, the Spain coach might have been the calmest person around.

I’d tried to convey a message that what would be, would be, Luis Enrique said, revealing what he’d told his team ahead of the 3-1 shootout victory over Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Friday.

‘I told them to relax … and to enjoy the moment as much as they could.’

Easier said than done for a team that had missed its last five regulation penalties in matches, two of them at Euro 2020. For a team that had squandered chance after chance in extra time as Switzerland’s energy-sapped players hung on for a 1-1 draw through extra time. For a team that had come into the match as the favorite and had taken an eighth-minute lead, only to see that wiped out by a defensive mistake.

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