‘So proud’ – Manchester United forward sends supportive message to Bukayo Saka after England win

Jadon Sancho sent a message of support to Bukayo Saka after the Arsenal winger scored his penalty in England’s shootout win over Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.

The Three Lions will face the Netherlands in the semi-finals at 8pm on Wednesday evening after edging past Switzerland on penalties. The winner secures a place in the eagerly awaited final.

Saka scored an equaliser against the Swiss in normal time with a strike from outside the box, before scoring England’s third penalty in the shootout.

The winger was praised for his courage to step up after receiving horrific abuse for missing his spot kick against Italy in the Euro 2020 final.

However, Saka wasn’t the only player abused for missing his penalty against the Italians three years ago. United duo Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford also missed their penalties before being subjected to racist abuse.

Following England’s win over Switzerland on Saturday, Sancho was among those to share their appreciation for Saka.

Sancho wrote to Instagram: “I’m so proud of this guy!”

“You did it for me and Marcus, brother.”

Saka responded to Sancho’s message with a love heart emoji and the words: “My boys.”

Speaking after the match, Saka revealed he didn’t think twice about stepping up to take a penalty.

“I think for me it’s something I embrace,” Saka said, as quoted by The Athletic.

“You can fail once but you have a choice whether you put yourself in that position again or not. I’m a guy who is going to put myself in that position. I believed in myself.

“When I saw the ball hit the net, I was a very happy man.

“I’m not going to be focusing on the past. That’s done. I can only focus on now and taking a penalty.

“Of course I know there’s a lot of nervous people watching, my family included and in the crowd. But I kept my cool and I scored.”

Subscribe to the Stretty News podcast Strettycast for weekly episodes on Manchester United. You can also sign up to the ad-free Stretty Newsletter. Get the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.