Burkina Faso
Czech Republic
Indonesia
Lithuania
Montenegro
Nigeria
North Macedonia

Englandvs.Switzerland

sportsmole.co.uk, 4 July 2024, 09:43
Pitting their wits against the plucky team to deny them a repeat of the 2021 final, an under-performing England crop fight for the right to become Euro 2024 semi-finalists against Switzerland in Dusseldorf on Saturday evening.

The teams convene at the Merkur Spiel-Arena after Gareth Southgate's charges survived an enormous scare against Slovakia, while Murat Yakin's men were far more deserved victors against reigning champions Italy.

Match preview

While a handful of England fans opted to throw their empty cups in the direction of Southgate after their tepid final Group C draw with Slovenia, others may have had their glasses half full with optimism that knockout football would re-light a fire within the Three Lions' bellies.

As it turned out, mediocrity was still the theme for the Euro 2020 runners-up in their last-16 battle with Slovakia, who deservedly went ahead through Ivan Schranz's third goal of the tournament and repelled futile England attacks for over 90 minutes in Gelsenkirchen.

However, a moment of sheer magic from Jude Bellingham saw the 21-year-old leave Martin Dubravka stranded to the spot with a dazzling bicycle kick, before Harry Kane needed just 52 seconds of extra time to complete a heroic England turnaround, but one that still sparked familiar criticism once the euphoria had settled.

Not one England performance at Euro 2024 has seen the Three Lions run out convincing victors, and they have not won a game in 90 minutes since edging out Serbia on the opening matchweek, but the fact of the matter is that Southgate has now led his nation to four successive major tournament quarter-finals.

With seven victories in knockout matches at the World Cup and European Championships, Southgate's septet of successes is the more than all other England men's managers combined since 1966, but such statistics will offer little comfort if football does not come home again.

The Three Lions had already avenged their Euro 2020 heartbreak to Italy during qualifying, but they will not have the opportunity for an even sweeter slice of vengeance against the Azzurri in Dusseldorf, courtesy of Switzerland's merited beating of the current holders.

After playing provider for Remo Freuler's deadlock-breaker, Ruben Vargas turned goalscorer in the first minute of the second half to ensure that a new European champion would be crowned in Berlin on July 14, while also making the Rossocrociati the first team to book their quarter-final spot.

With a statement win over Hungary and applaudable draw with Germany - who only equalised in second-half injury time - under their belts, Yakin's men have taken on the role of dark horses and now have a second straight quarter-final to look forward to, but they have never been past this stage of any major tournament.

However, as well as England's limp performances offering the Rossocrociati plenty of optimism, Yakin's troops have now strung together an eight-game unbeaten streak in all tournaments and have lost just once in 18 since the 2022 World Cup; a 1-0 qualifying reverse to Romania.

Not since a 1981 World Cup qualifier have Switzerland come up trumps over England, though, as the Three Lions have won their last five against the Rossocrociati and are unbeaten in 13 - unlucky for some - and current boss Yakin was part of the Swiss side that went down 3-0 to England in the Euro 2004 group stage.

England European Championship form:

W

D

D

W

England form (all competitions):

W

L

W

D

D

W

Switzerland European Championship form:

W

D

D

W

Switzerland form (all competitions):

W

D

W

D

D

W

Team News

Insult was added to injury for England centre-back Marc Guehi in the last-16 win over Slovakia, as in addition to hurting his shoulder while fruitlessly trying to stop Schranz from scoring, the Crystal Palace man picked up the yellow card that rules him out of this quarter-final.

With Guehi out of contention and England struggling for attacking inspiration with their 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 setup, Southgate is reportedly considering a change to a three-man defence for Saturday, where Ezri Konsa is the favourite to step in for his banned teammate.

Despite returning to full training before the knockouts began, Luke Shaw is yet to earn any minutes for England at the Euros and should not be thrown back into the first XI after almost five months out, so Kieran Trippier and Bukayo Saka may act as Southgate's wing-backs.

England vs. Switzerland also means Declan Rice vs. Granit Xhaka as a current and former Arsenal midfielder collide, and the latter is thought to be winning his race to be fit for the weekend despite a brief scare over an adductor injury; scans showed that there was nothing seriously wrong with him.

Yakin is therefore expected to have a clean bill of health and faces the best kind of selection predicament on the right, where Silvan Widmer returns from a one-game suspension after Dan Ndoye excelled in his place in the win over Italy.

One solution for Yakin would be to move Ndoye into the front three at the expense of Fabian Rieder and recall Widmer to his usual right wing-back position, where a fascinating battle with Saka could materialise.

England possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Walker, Konsa, Stones; Trippier, Bellingham, Rice, Foden, Saka; Kane, Toney

Switzerland possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Schar, Rodriguez, Akanji; Widmer, Xhaka, Freuler, Aebischer; Ndoye, Vargas; Embolo

We say: England 1-2 Switzerland

Whether a potential formation change has the desired effect remains to be seen, but a slight tinker cannot immediately cure England's lacklustre attacking play, and many will feel that the Three Lions do not even deserve to be in the quarter-finals in the first place.

Previews by email

Top News

13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Sporting Kansas City will be looking to snap their run of five defeats from their opening five games when they play host to Minnesota United at Children's Mercy Park on Sunday morning. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton welcome West Ham United to Goodison Park for a bottom-half Premier League contest on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brentford boss Thomas Frank has revealed that Fabio Carvalho faces an uphill battle to play again this season. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has named Ayden Heaven in his starting side for Thursday's Europa League last-16 second leg with Real Sociedad. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Mauricio Pochettino has told talkSPORT he dreams of returning to Tottenham one day. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea and Copenhagen have confirmed their starting lineups for Thursday's Conference League fixture at Stamford Bridge. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes Pep Guardiola's side will need to score at least two goals if they wish to beat Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday's Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Santos president Marcelo Teixeira is hopeful that the club will be able to sign Neymar to a fresh contract. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Erling Haaland will attempt to set a fresh Premier League record when Manchester City welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Former Premier League striker Jermain Defoe has exclusively told Sports Mole he does not believe that Darwin Nunez can rescue his career at Liverpool. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Real Sociedad midfielder Arsen Zakharyan is reportedly unavailable for their second leg clash Manchester United due to visa issues. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly reignited their interest in Lille forward Jonathan David. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have confirmed that Ferland Mendy is facing a spell on the sidelines with the muscular problem that he picked up during Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United could be without up to four players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Everton at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton are set to be without five players for Saturday's Premier League clash with West Ham United at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk UEFA have revealed that they will "enter discussions" with FIFA and IFAB over a potential rule change following Julian Alvarez's controversial spot-kick in Wednesday's Champions League clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton manager David Moyes will renew acquaintances with one of his former clubs West Ham United when they do battle at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brighton & Hove Albion could be without up to seven players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will be without at least four players for Saturday's Premier League clash Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia's battle to stay out of the La Liga relegation zone will continue on Saturday night, when they head to Estadi Montilivi to tackle a Girona outfit that are without a victory since the start of February. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk William Saliba has reportedly told Arsenal in 'private' that he has no plans to leave the club despite being linked with European champions Real Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will endeavour to climb back into the top four of the Premier League table when they welcome high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal winger Raheem Sterling will be suspended for next month's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk European-chasing Mallorca will be bidding to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they continue their campaign with a home fixture against relegation-threatened Espanyol on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Having avoided a calamitous defeat last week, AC Milan will host Como on Saturday evening, when the regional rivals meet at San Siro. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nottingham Forest fulcrum Morgan Gibbs-White can inch closer to a slice of club history when the Tricky Trees travel to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town in Saturday's Premier League clash. 13 March 2025 talksport.com The Europa League and Europa Conference League round of 16 ties will come to an end this evening. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Ipswich Town centre-forward Liam Delap will have to tread carefully in Saturday's Premier League showdown with Nottingham Forest at Portman Road. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has named his 23-man squad for this month's UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie against Italy. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Reuniting just a couple of weeks on from a dramatic FA Cup affair, Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest are back in Premier League action at Portman Road on Saturday afternoon.