Manuel Akanji suffered a moment every footballer must dread; missing the penalty that leads to one’s nation being knocked out of a major international tournament on penalties.
After England defeated Switzerland on penalties, Akanji did not shy away from the fact that he could have taken a much better spot-kick.
Manchester City’s number 25 was understandably in tears in the aftermath of the game.
Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker consoled their City teammate after the contest — a gesture Gary Lineker praised.
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Gary Neville analyses what Manuel Akanji did wrong in Euro 2024 penalty miss
Luke Shaw revealed that it was Walker who backed up Jordan Pickford’s research about Akanji’s penalty-taking process by pointing where he would shoot.
Regardless, the two-time Premier League winner’s penalty was at the perfect height for Pickford to stop from bypassing him.
Murat Yakin’s side, who pushed the English right to the brink were eliminated — despite playing some of the best football at the tournament.
Gary Neville briefly broke down where Akanji erred when stepping up for his penalty right after England were 1-0 up after two spot-kicks were struck against Switzerland.
On ITV Sport, Neville said: “Short run-up was not good. He didn’t look confident, did he?”
Joleon Lescott added: “That run-up was too short. He was trying to get out of there.”
A lesson to keep in mind for Akanji after Switzerland lose to England
After hearing what Gary Neville as what as Joleon Lescott pinpointed, Akanji could be prompted to make changes to his penalty-taking technique.
Not just in terms of how he struck the ball but also in terms of the former Borussia Dortmund centre-back’s run-up and lack of disguise in the lead-up to it.
Switzerland tend to give top teams a test and if the game goes to penalties, Akanji will perhaps seem a lot more self-assured in the future.
The treble-winner will have a hard time trying to recover from his latest setback but the sooner he views his miss as a lesson, the better-placed he will be to mend what was ultimately a mere human error in the future.
