England vs Switzerland – Euro 2024 quarter-final match preview | OneFootball

England face Switzerland in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on Saturday evening. The Three Lions have laboured in reaching the last eight and will be up against a Swiss side confident of an upset.

Here is all you need to know about Saturday’s game in Düsseldorf.

Form

England: LWDDW

England needed a last-gasp goal from Jude Bellingham to save their tournament in the last 16 as the Real Madrid midfielder’s acrobatic equaliser forced extra-time against Slovakia. The Three Lions looked to be heading to an early exit against the team ranked 45th in the world before Bellingham’s brilliance forced extra time. Harry Kane headed home a winner early in the added period as England came from behind to progress.

Southgate’s side’s struggles against Slovakia were part of a concerning trend, however. After a narrow win over Serbia in their opening fixture, England were held to draws by Denmark and Slovenia before their fright in the first knockout round game.

Southgate has failed to find the balance in midfield with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher and Kobbie Mainoo all taking turns alongside Declan Rice, while the lack of a recognised left-back has been an issue. Reports this week have suggested Southgate could be prepared to make major changes with a 3-5-2 formation and Bukayo Saka featuring from wing-back. It would be comparatively radical for Southgate but the current plan has not worked as hoped.

England ranked 20th of the 24 teams for average shots per game in the group stage, while only Serbia scored fewer goals.

Switzerland: DWDDW

Switzerland have impressed to reach the last eight for the second successive European Championship. The Swiss were a stoppage-time goal from Niclas Füllkrug away from topping Group A ahead of Germany, before thrashing holders Italy in the Round of 16.

Organised and hard-working, Switzerland have taken their chances when they arrive this summer. In the group stage, only Germany exceeded their xG by a bigger margin, before Switzerland scored twice from an xG of 1.25 in the win over Italy.

Murat Takin’s team have nothing to lose having never been beyond this stage of a major tournament. Granit Xhaka has excelled in midfield after a brilliant campaign at Bayer Leverkusen and will be one to watch for England, while the Three Lions will need to get creative to breakdown a backline featuring Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji and Newcastle centre-back Fabian Schar.

Switzerland have lost just one of their last 18 internationals but have a poor record against England, failing to beat the Three Lions since 1981 – a run of 13 games.

Last Meeting

England 2-1 Switzerland, March 26th 2022, International friendly

England came from behind to beat Switzerland in a friendly fixture at Wembley in March 2022. The Swiss started well with Jordan Pickford called into regular action early on and opened the scoring through Breel Embolo’s 22nd-minute header.

Luke Shaw struck in first-half stoppage time to level for England going into the break, before Harry Kane equalled Bobby Charlton’s England goal record with his 49th international goal. Kane slammed in from the spot after a Steven Zuber handball to move joint-second among England’s leading scorers.

Predicted Lineups

England: Pickford; Walker, Konsa, Stones; Alexander-Arnold, Mainoo, Bellingham, Rice, Foden, Saka; Kane.

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

Who is the referee?

Daniele Orsato (Italy).

What channel is England vs Switzerland on?

The game will be shown on BBC One and can be streamed via the iPlayer.

What time is kick-off?

Saturday 6th July, 5 pm BST.

Odds

England – 6/5

Draw – 19/10

Switzerland – 29/10

Read – The England managers with the highest win percentage

See more – Wayne Rooney at Euro 2004: A precocious phenomenon

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