Sancho praises Saka for redemptive penalty at Euro 2024 and says “you did it for me and Marcus”

By The Associated Press

England's Bukayo Saka scores during the penalty shootout of a quarterfinal match between England and Switzerland at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Martin Meissner]

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Jadon Sancho has praised Bukayo Saka for his redemptive penalty for England at the European Championship that went some way to banishing the memories of their high-profile shootout misses at the previous tournament in 2021. Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Saka either missed or had their spot kicks saved in the shootout won by Italy in the European Championship final at Wembley Stadium in 2021. They are all Black players and they received vicious racist abuse on social media afterward. Saka was one of the five England players to score in the shootout win over Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarterfinal on Saturday and Sancho sent a heartwarming message to his friend. Sancho says “you did it for me and Marcus brother!”