ENGLAND hero Bukayo Saka was yesterday saluted by a former Three Lions team-mate who shared his pain when they were targeted by trolls.
Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford all suffered vile online abuse after missing penalties in the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
Sancho has now hailed Saka’s courage after the Arsenal star scored a late equaliser before exorcising his spot-kick demons to help knock out Switzerland.
Sancho, 24, wrote on Instagram: “I’m so proud of this guy! You did it for me and Marcus brother.”
The Manchester United star, on loan to Borussia Dortmund, added a heart and a V-for-victory sign beside the message: “My boys”.
Sancho and United striker Rashford, 26, did not make it into the squad who on Saturday got to a second successive Euros semi- final — this time to face the Netherlands on Wednesday night.
Together with Saka, 22, they had been deluged with racist posts that sparked a police probe.
But devout Christian Saka told how his faith gave him strength, and how he had used the hurt “to make me stronger”.
Speaking immediately after the shoot-out that sparked huge celebrations among fans in Germany and back home in England, Saka said: “You can fail once but you have a choice if you put yourself in that position or not again.
“I’m a guy who is going to put myself in that position. I believed in myself. And when I saw the ball hit the back of the net, I was a very happy man.”
Yesterday he said of the dreaded long walk to the penalty spot: “I try to focus on success. If I think about failing or missing it gets me worried and gets me tense.
“But I was pretty relaxed because I have taken many penalties this season and I’ve scored all of them, so I was confident.”
Saka fell to his knees as Trent Alexander-Arnold converted the fifth penalty to win the game.
He said: “I got on my knees straight away to thank God because I knew what it was like for me at the last penalties shoot-out for England. Then I got up and saw everyone running and just chased after everyone.
“To have that moment with the fans was special and I really enjoyed it.”
Saluting goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, he added: “Every time we go to a shoot-out, he has always saved one. It was perfect timing for him to save the first one because it made our takers more relaxed.”
Substitute Luke Shaw revealed how Saka’s delight continued while listening to music on his headphones on the plane back to England’s base camp.
He said: “He was vibing on his own — he had his earphones in and he was dancing.”
Meanwhile, England legend Stuart Pearce — who missed a key penalty against Germany in the 1990 World Cup, then famously roared after blasting home against Spain at Euro ’96 — told The Sun: “Bukayo’s journey has been a lot tougher than mine.
“He’s had to go through social media incriminations and horrible racist abuse.
“Yet Bukayo has come through that and put himself up again. His courage was there for all to see. I’m very proud of him.”
Pearce, now a talkSPORT pundit, also paid tribute to Pickford, who studied every Swiss penalty taker meticulously before the game.
Pictures after the shoot-out showed the Everton shot-stopper wrote notes on his water bottle on which way to dive for each Swiss player.
Pearce said: “You can always feel really confident that he’s going to stop at least one — and that’s just what he did.”
3 Lions move up a gear
TWO of England’s penalty heroes switch the rollercoaster ride of the shoot-out for a bike ride.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ivan Toney, who both scored spot kicks in Saturday’s quarter-final win over Switzerland, cycled around England’s team camp.
Trent’s Liverpool team-mate Joe Gomez was also with them.
Elsewhere, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, two of the other penalty takers, recovered from their exertions with a dip in the pool at the Spa & Golf Resort Weimarer Land in Blankenhain.
The players are allowed to carry out leisure activities on certain days, with some playing golf and racket sport padel.
But the rule within the camp is that two days before matches such recreational activity stops, with the focus on preparing for the upcoming game.
Coreden’s play held for result
By Robin Perrie
ACTOR James Corden delayed his theatre show for the penalty shootout.
He, Anna Maxwell Martin and Zachary Hart put an iPad on a table on stage and narrated the action for The Constituent audience at London’s Old Vic.
James said: “We were in costume and saw lots of phones lit up — it wasn’t the time to start a serious play! It was a glorious collective experience. One of my favourite moments.”
Carla Feltham, 37, from Bristol, said the political drama started ten minutes late but added: “It was perfect. No one minded.”