England battle Switzerland at the Düsseldorf Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany, for a place in the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
The Three Lions have largely been underwhelming at the tournament thus far and they were at the brink of exit in the last 16 if not for Jude Bellingham, who inspirationally equalized against Slovakia deep into added time.
Who Takes The Day In Dusseldorf, England or Switzerland?
Gareth Southgate’s side also had a shaky outing in the group stage, defeating only Serbia, courtesy of a goal by Jude Bellingham, before playing out a 1-1 and 0-0 draw against Denmark and Slovenia respectively.
Having settled for a 1-1 draw against Slovakia in regulation time, Harry Kane ultimately decided the game, with a headed goal in the 1st minute of extra time.
Despite the array of stars at their disposal, they haven’t been able to delineate quality as expected of them.
England have a berth in the quarter-finals and as such, they have the right to dream that it could possibly be coming home this time.
Switzerland have been better than England at the 2024 European Championship, given their standards and the litany of stars that they parade.
Murat Yakin’s side defeated Hungary in their opening game of the tournament 1-3, before subsequently playing out 1-1 draws against Scotland and Germany.
They have looked impressive across all their matches and in the round of 16 against Italy, Switzerland showed class by eliminating the defending champions courtesy of goals from Remo Frueler and Ruben Vargas in the 37th and 46th minute respectively.
Anyway, Murat Yakin’s side go head-to-head against England, hoping to dump the Euro 2020 runners-up from the tournament, having guided the winners through the exit door.
In the last 7 meetings between Switzerland and the Three Lions, England haven’t tasted defeat, winning 5 and drawing 2.
They last met on March 26, 2022, with Gareth Southgate’s side defeating Switzerland 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley.
It will be interesting to see where the pendulum will swing this time around, as both sides go head-to-head on Saturday, July 6, 2024.
Team News For England
Marc Guehi will be absent from the fixture against Switzerland due to suspension, after picking up a yellow card in their last 16 game against Slovakia.
Luke Shaw is back to full fitness, but it is unknown if Gareth Southgate will give him a chance to feature against the Swiss.
In the absence of him playing, Kieran Trippier and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka might be used as wingbacks for England by Southgate.
There is no other concern for England with regards to injuries, but reports are claiming that Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham could both play the number 10 role for the Three Lions against Switzerland.
Team News for Switzerland
Granite Xhaka looks to be winning the race to be fit for the quarter-final clash with England despite concern over an adductor injury.
Subsequent scans showed that there was nothing seriously wrong with the midfielder and he is good to go for the game.
Switzerland also don’t have any issues pertaining to injury, with manager Yakin only having selection problems to deal with.
England’s possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Walker, Konsa, Stones; Trippier, Bellingham, Rice, Foden, Saka; Kane, Toney.
Switzerland’s possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Schar, Rodriguez, Akanji; Widmer, Xhaka, Freuler, Aebischer; Ndoye, Vargas; Embolo.
Prediction: England 1-1 Switzerland After Extra Time (4-3, England win via penalties).
Kick-off Time And Date: 05:00 PM, July 6, 2024
