England are through to the semi-finals of Euro 2024 after a dramatic 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory over Switzerland in what proved to be a tense and nail-biting quarter-final contest in Dusseldorf.
The Three Lions, in uncharacteristic fashion, were clinical from the penalty spot with the likes of Cole Palmer, Ivan Toney, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold all finding the net in comprehensive fashion, with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford crucially denying Switzerland's Manuel Akanji from 12 yards.
The victory marks Gareth Southgate's third semi-final in four tournaments, a feat which is now equal with all 18 managers combined who came before him. Southgate's men are now just two games away from ending their 58 year wait for silverware and are now preparing for yet another challenging test in the semi-final against Netherlands as they look to reach back-to-back finals for the first time in their history.
The Three Lions have endured a great deal of penalty shootout heartache in recent years and fans and pundits alike were quick to commend the composure shown by the takers in such pressuring circumstances.
But what is England's overall penalty shootout record in major tournaments - and how many shoot-outs have the Three Lions won?
What is England's penalty shootout record?The England national team have been involved in 11 penalty shootouts in major tournaments and have managed to win on just four occasions.
The Three Lions have won one of their four penalty shoot-outs at the World Cup and Gareth Southgate became the first ever England manager to win a penalty shootout against Colombia back in 2018.
England have won two of their six shoot-outs at the European Championships and their victory over Switzerland was their first since beating Spain in the quarter-final of the 1996 edition on home soil.
England's previous penalty shootouts
England were managed by Bobby Robson and were out for redemption after their controversial exit in 1986 at the hands of Diego Maradona.
Robson's side secured top spot in the group ahead of the likes of Republic of Ireland, Netherlands and Egypt. The Three Lions then followed that up with extra time victories over Belgium and tournament dark horses Cameroon.
England were dreaming of glory in 1990 and some of the standout players in the tournament were Geordie maverick Paul Gascoigne and 1986 golden boot winner Gary Lineker.
After a thrilling 1-1 draw with Germany and a potential rematch with Argentina looming in the final, Peter Shilton failed to get near any of Germany's clinical penalties. Meanwhile, misses from Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle left England fans wondering what might have been.
England vs Spain - Euro 1996 quarter-finalEngland were the tournament hosts in Euro 96 and were being cheered on by the new football song at the time Three Lions.
Football fever had swept the nation during the competition and England sailed through the group stage in style after victories over Scotland and Netherlands.
Terry Venables' team faced Spain in their first knockout game of the tournament and were held to a 0-0 draw in a tightly fought contest. The game eventually went to penalties and it proved to be a redemption story for Stuart Pearce who missed his penalty six years earlier.
All four of England's penalty takers kept their cool from the spot and the Three Lions secured their place in the final with their first and only penalty shootout triumph in the Euros.
England vs Germany - Euro 1996 semi-finalTerry Venables' England team were hotly tipped to go all the way in Euro 96 - they were backed by home supporters and were blessed with an excellent team featuring tournament top scorer Alan Shearer, Paul Gascoigne, Teddy Sheringham and David Platt. The team was full of leaders and seemed to have the perfect blend of youth and experience.
The semi-final match saw a reunion between England and Germany. England took an early lead through Alan Shearer but were pegged back after a goal from Stefan Kuntz.
The game went to penalties and Germany were again clinical from the penalty spot scoring all six of their efforts, meanwhile England were also very effective from the spot and scored all of their opening five penalties. However, it was future England manager Gareth Southgate who cost the Three Lions the game and his penalty shoot-out miss sent Germany through to the final as they went on to rub further salt in the wounds by lifting the trophy at Wembley in the final.
England vs Argentina - World Cup 1998 round of 16England returned to the world stage for the first time in eight years after failing to qualify for the tournament four years earlier in USA.
The Three Lions were managed by former Chelsea boss Glenn Hoddle and were hotly tipped to go deep into the competition. England had an array of experience from previous tournaments such as Tony Adams, Alan Shearer and David Seaman. Meanwhile new youngsters were breaking into the team such as teenagers Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen.
England finished as runners-up in the group behind Romania and ahead of Colombia and Tunisia. This earnt them a place in the knockout stages but a challenging draw against Argentina.
The game proved to be a thrilling 2-2 draw and it was a breakout moment for future Balon D'or winner Owen who scored a tremendous solo goal to announce himself on the world stage.
England played most of the match with 10 men after a red card for David Beckham in the opening moments of the second half. The Three Lions ultimately lost the shootout 4-3 and exited the tournament in the round of 16.
England vs Portugal - Euro 2004 quarter-finalThe first of two painful penalty shootout defeats to Portugal came in the quarter-final of Euro 2004.
The Three Lions were now managed by Sven Goran Eriksson and were hotly tipped to go deep into the tournament with a new wave of talent featuring the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and teenage sensation Wayne Rooney.
England prevailed from a difficult group featuring France, Croatia and Switzerland and Rooney proved to be one of the early stars of the tournament with four group stage goals.
The Three Lions faced tournament hosts Portugal in the quarter-final who themselves had a breakout star in the form of Manchester United youngster Cristiano Ronaldo.
The game proved to be a thrilling 2-2 draw but England ultimately suffered the pain of a penalty shootout defeat and lost 6-5 with Darius Vassell missing the vital penalty.
England vs Portugal - World Cup 2006 quarter-finalThe Three Lions were out for redemption heading into the World Cup quarter-final in 2006 with the media famously dubbing this group as the golden generation.
England were filled with talent across the pitch and the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand were all in the middle of their peak years for their club sides.
England sailed through the group as leaders and followed that up with by securing a 1-0 victory over Ecuador in the round of 16.
The game ultimately went to penalties and the Three Lions lost 3-1 in the shootout after misses from Gerrard, Lampard and Jamie Carragher.
England vs Italy - Euro 2012 quarter-finalEngland returned to the European stage for the first time in eight years after failing to qualify for the tournament in 2008.
The Three Lions were managed by Roy Hodgson who replaced Fabio Capello on the eve of the tournament. England were viewed as outsiders for the tournament but optimism began to grow when the Three Lions topped their group ahead of France, Ukraine and Sweden.
Hodgson faced an experienced Italy side in the quarter-finals and the game proved to be a cagey 0-0 draw. The game ultimately went to penalties and misses from Ashley Young and Ashley Cole cost England a place in the semi-finals.
England vs Colombia - World Cup 2018 round of 16The Three Lions claimed their first ever penalty shootout win at a World Cup when they overcame South American side Colombia.
England secured their place in the knockout stages as runners-up behind Belgium and recorded their biggest ever World Cup victory with a 6-1 win over Panama.
The Three Lions took the lead through Harry Kane but were forced to settle for extra time after a last-gasp goal from Yerry Mina. The game remained deadlocked throughout extra time and the dreaded penalty shootout loomed.
Southgate's side kept their cool from the penalty spot for the first time in 22 years and earned their place in the quarter-final after a 4-3 shootout win.
England vs Switzerland - UEFA Nations League 2019 third-place play-offThe UEFA Nations League is a newly introduced international tournament and it hasn't quite got the same level of importance as the European Championships or the World Cup.
England were determined to lift the inaugural tournament to boost confidence ahead of the Euro 2020 tournament. However, the Three Lions suffered a semi-final defeat to Netherlands and faced Switzerland in a third-place play off game.
The game was a low key event and finished 0-0 after 120 minutes of football. The first 11 penalties were all converted from the spot and Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford proved to be the hero with the decisive penalty save.
England vs Italy - Euro 2020 finalEngland secured their place in the Euro final for the first time in their history after an incredible run which saw them knock out the likes of Denmark, Ukraine and Germany.
The Three Lions were favourites to end their 55-year-wait for a major trophy and were blessed with their most talented team in recent memory featuring the likes of Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka.
Gareth Southgate's side enjoyed a dream start to the final and took the lead after two minutes through an unlikely source in the form of Manchester United left back Luke Shaw. However, Italy equalised during the second half through Leandro Bonucci and forced the game into extra time.
After a tightly fought affair the game went to penalties and Italy ran out 3-2 winners in the shootout with Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missing the vital penalties.
England vs Switzerland - Euro 2024 quarter-finalEngland came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Switzerland with Bukayo Saka's wonder goal cancelling out a second half strike from Breel Embolo.
The Three Lions struggled to take control over proceedings in a new-look three at the back formation, but did look a more coherent outfit then the one that scraped past Slovakia after extra time.
After a tightly-fought affair, the game went to penalties - and despite the absence of England captain and first choice penalty taker Harry Kane, who was injured in extra time, the Three Lions roared to victory on penalties with Cole Palmer, Ivan Toney, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Trent Alexander-Arnold all keeping their cool from 12 yards.