Spain were dragged to extra time and then penalties on Friday before they could overcome a 10-man Switzerland 3-1 to get through to the EURO2020 semi-finals.
Spain had gone ahead in the first half after Switzerland defender Denis Zakaria scored an own goal in his first appearance at the tournament.
Switzerland Captain Xherdan Shaqiri, who went through the season without scoring a single goal for Liverpool, found his form and equalised in the 68th minute to take the game into extra time.
However, Switzerland lost momentum going forward in the 77th minute when Remo Freuler was sent off for a poor tackle. From then on all the Swiss could do was defend doggedly.
Spain went through 120 minutes without scoring. It was a drop from the lofty heights four days ago when they scored five against Croatia.
But in the first half of extra time, Spain picked up the pace with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba taking the game to Switzerland.
Tough as nails Manuel Akanji came to Switzerland’s rescue with crucial tackles.
Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer who saved Kylian Mbappé’s penalty to Knock France out of the Euros, also played his part with spectacular saves.
In the shootout, Switzerland had a dream start – Busquests hit the post and missed.
But it all fell apart when Switzerland missed two penalties to fall behind.
