Luke Shaw’s notable reaction after not celebrating with England team-mates

After Trent Alexander-Arnold’s winning penalty in England’s last eight shootout win over Switzerland on Saturday, Luke Shaw was the only Three Lions players who did not rush to celebrate

Luke Shaw consoles the Swiss players (
Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Luke Shaw showed a touch of class in the immediate aftermath of England’s penalty shootout win over Switzerland.

As his Three Lions team-mates rushed to celebrate Trent Alexander-Arnold’s winning penalty in Dusseldorf, the Manchester United man headed in the opposite direction – to shake hands with heartbroken Swiss opponents.

Shaw, who came on as a second-half substitute, didn’t take a spot-kick but watched as Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney and Alexander-Arnold all scored from 12 yards. England claimed a 5-3 win on spot-kicks, thanks to Jordan Pickford’s denial of Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji – aided by the England stopper’s water bottle.

As Swiss skipper Granit Xhaka and his team-mates, emotionally drained after a tense quarter-final, broke down in tears, Shaw shook hands with a number of his counterparts. He would go around the entire group, before getting involved in England’s celebrations in front of the travelling fans.

It had been the Manchester United left-back’s first appearance of the tournament, appearing as a 78th minute substitute with England trailing to Breel Embolo’s goal. Within minutes, Saka had scored the equaliser.

Ultimately, it came down to spot-kicks, with Alexander-Arnold holding his nerve, blasting past Yann Sommer and handing England a semi-final showdown with Netherlands. And Alexander-Arnold was full of praise for the nerve shown by Gareth Southgate’s side.

“It is what we have practiced,” he declared. “When the gaffer said I was taking one, I enjoyed it and I’d practiced it – I knew I had to just execute it. All five penalties from us were great.”

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On England’s triumph, he added: “Incredible, these are the goals that we set for ourselves. Difficult opponent going behind and the team showed a lot of character, belief, heart and spirit out there.

“We knew it was going to be tight. Whatever it takes and no matter what we win – that is all that matters to us.”

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