Trent Alexander-Arnold had ice-cold reaction to Gareth Southgate telling him he was taking penalty

Liverpool superstar Trent Alexander-Arnold had nerves of steal as he fired England to the semifinals of Euro 2024 with a 5-3 penalty shootout win against Switzerland.

The 25-year-old came on in extra time as the Swiss forced the 2020 finalist into an additional 30 minutes. Cole Palmer stepped up and as cold as ice, slotted home. Jude Bellingham followed, as did Bukayo Saka, who missed the penultimate penalty in the Wembley Euros final defeat to Italy three years ago. Ivan Toney didn't even look at the ball as he stepped up fourth and picked out the bottom-left corner.

But Gareth Southgate turned to Alexander-Arnold at No. 5 - the Liverpool player he's had little trust in so far this tournament, picking Kieran Trippier ahead of him at right wing-back on Saturday. Alexander-Arnold sent goalkeeper Yann Sommer the wrong way and picked out the top-left corner effortlessly.

READ MORE: Gareth Southgate shows exactly what he thinks of Joe Gomez with Luke Shaw decision
READ MORE: Inside Arne Slot's first day at Liverpool as new boss meets eight players

And his reaction to finding out he'd be fifth in the penalty order says it all about the Liverpool ace. "When the gaffer tells me I'm taking one, my belly doesn't drop," Alexander-Arnold said after the game.

"I knew what spot and I knew I just needed to execute it. Pickford making the save at the start gives you the confidence. You see, so far, every game has gone to extra-time so they're the finest of margins but we were able to win it."

The Swiss weren't expected to be rolled over, with the Granit Xhaka-led team one of Euro 2024's most impressive outfits so far. A poor performance in the Round of 16 against Slovakia didn't fill the Three Lions with confidence, needing to be bailed out by Bellingham late on, followed by a Harry Kane winner.

Trent added: "Incredible. These are the goals we set for ourselves. It was a difficult opponent, again, going behind. But the team showed a lot of character, a lot of belief and heart and spirit out there. Dug deep when it mattered most. We knew it was going to be tight, we were never going to run away with the game, although that would have been nice. Whatever it takes, no matter what, we win. That's all that matters to us."

Southgate, a man under fire following a stretch of poor performances, hailed his team. Southgate said: “I thought the players were brilliant. It is the best we played, we caused them a lot of problems. They are a hard team to play against. To come from behind again and showed resilience and character is what it’s about. Winning a tournament is not all about playing well all the time.

“It is so brave, he is one of our best. There was no doubt he would take one – we all know what he went through. We played well today and had to be tactically spot on. We are in a third semi-final, it says a lot about the group."

Liverpool.com says: Southgate needs to trust Trent more. He's one of, if not the most, gifted player in the Three Lions squad with a unique skill set. He should be ahead of Trippier in the pecking order, especially with Luke Shaw returning at left wing-back, and Kyle Walker covering the right side of the pitch at right center-back.