David Beckham, a name synonymous with England's football highs and lows, knows all too well the pressure of scoring - or missing - a penalty in a major international tournament. His career with the Three Lions was a rollercoaster ride of triumphs and tribulations.
Beckham donned the captain's armband for England for six years, making 117 appearances for his country. His early career with the national team was marred by controversy when he was shown a red card for lashing out at Diego Simeone during the 1998 World Cup match against Argentina.
However, Beckham had his moment of sweet revenge four years later when he scored a penalty against the same team in a group game at the 2002 World Cup. But the pendulum swung again in 2004 when he missed a crucial penalty in a shootout against Portugal in the Euro 2004 quarter-final.
Given his experiences, Beckham is perfectly positioned to offer words of support to Bukayo Saka, who has experienced his own ups and downs in an England shirt. Saka, at just 19, was the unfortunate player to miss the decisive penalty in the Euro 2020 final shootout defeat to Italy at Wembley. However, the young Arsenal star has since had his moment of redemption.
In the 80th minute of England's quarter-final match against Switzerland on Saturday night, Saka fired home from the edge of the box to equalize, just five minutes after the Swiss had taken the lead. And Saka wasn't done yet. He went on to score a penalty in the shootout, securing England's place in the semi-finals of the competition. The joy on the 22-year-old's face said it all.
Football legend David Beckham hailed Arsenal's Saka for his remarkable comeback performance for England on Saturday, offering a dose of encouragement for the young gunner. Sharing his thoughts on Instagram, Becks penned: "That's the smile we all needed to see... Courage and happiness @bukayosaka87, well done to the lads @england."