Gareth Southgate’s side needs to regroup ahead of England v Switzerland in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on Saturday, with The Three Lions needing extra-time to better Slovakia and advance at the weekend.
They certainly haven’t dazzled but the draw has opened up for the pre-tournament favourites and they will face-off with surprise package Switzerland for a place in the semi-finals on Saturday evening. England will have to improve if they want to finally bring football home, but where has it been going wrong for the Three Lions so far? We’ve highlighted five key talking points ahead of Saturday’s crunch game and picked out two selections to boot.
England v Switzerland: Why are things not clicking?
England arrived in Germany as the clear favourites to finally bring football home, but to put it frankly they are lucky to still be in the tournament. There is no doubting that Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England manager has had many successful moments, but the buck stops with him and it feels as though the natural end to his cycle passed us by a good while ago now.
To his credit, he has built a rapport between the squad, the media and the nation that we have never really seen before, but it feels as though that good feeling has gone too far the wrong way. Southgate has a lot of credit in the bank with England fans thanks to both that as well as the extended runs in both the World Cup in Russia and at the last Euros, but his tactical limitations have become a big issue in those moments where it comes down to small margins.
He’s faced rightful criticism for his unwillingness to change things up so far in Germany and while he’s been noble in his attempts to shoulder the criticism himself, his popularity amongst the players has seen that positive siege mentality perhaps aimed at the wrong people.
The nation wants to see the England team do well and so far they haven’t hit the heights of a side which includes a Champions League winner, two Premier League winners and the Bundesliga top scorer to name just a few. Things feel too comfortable in the dressing room and Southgate will have to be prepared to upset some of his key players if we are to see the change we need against Switzerland.
England v Switzerland: Southgate Stick or Twist
They may have reached a fourth straight quarter-final under Gareth Southgate, but there is no hiding from the fact that England have been nothing short of turgid so far this tournament. Good teams have to be able to win without playing well, but you can’t mask the fact that without that moment of magic from Jude Bellingham, England were 30 seconds away from one of the darkest moments in their history.
The Three Lions have arguably got the best attacking options in the world at their disposal, though much like the three-doesn’t-go-into-two choice between Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes from two decades ago, it just doesn’t seem feasible to have a front three of Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka behind Harry Kane.
England have been listless so far and it’s hard to imagine anything changing if we don’t see a fresh perspective, but Southgate’s reluctance to use his bench so far suggests he feels things will eventually click into place. The positive introductions of each of Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Ivan Toney on Sunday showed that a solution is lurking in there somewhere for Southgate, but he is averse to shaking things up. He will be forced into one change at the very least, with Marc Guéhi suspended, while it would be a huge boost if Luke Shaw could finally make an appearance at left-back.
The presence of natural number 10 Phil Foden on the left-hand side continues to be an issue and while Shaw would go some way to fixing that, it’s hard to justify keeping Foden there when you have two left-footed options in Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon waiting in the wings. It is said that the definition of madness is to do the same thing over and over again and unfortunately it feels almost certain that we will be looking at the following six names come Saturday evening: Rice, Mainoo, Foden, Bellingham, Saka, Kane.
England v Switzerland: Goals at a Premium
The vast majority of this article focuses on England, but it would be folly not to give at least some air time to Switzerland, who have been one of the brighter sparks of the tournament so far. The Swiss were mere moments from pipping Germany to top spot in the group in their own backyard and they dominated their round of 16 tie with Italy from start to finish.
They may not have the star names at their disposal that England can boast, but they are a well-drilled unit who will be looking at the Three Lions as a golden opportunity to reach the semi-finals of an international tournament for the first time. Switzerland are a step up on what England have faced so far and much like they did against Germany and to a lesser extent Italy, it seems likely that they will look to neutralise their opponents’ key threats and choose their moments wisely.
It feels like a game that will come down to fine margins, particularly when you consider that England have yet to score more than one goal in 90 minutes across the four games. This will be a war of attrition and it looks worth taking the 1.46 with kwiff for there to be under 2.5 goals.
England v Switzerland: Palmer Primed
He may have had to settle for two appearances off the bench so far, but it feels as though we’re at the point where it’s impossible not to start Cole Palmer against Switzerland. Palmer burst into England’s calculations thanks to a stunning 22-goal campaign for Chelsea and he has impressed on each of the three occasions that he was given an opportunity in June, starting by scoring from the spot in a warm-up game against Bosnia.
The fact that his 66th-minute introduction at the weekend was just his sixth cap for his country shows he is still a precocious talent, but he brought an energy and an enterprise that England have desperately lacked in the final third. That enterprise ought to have earned him a spot in the three-pronged assault behind Kane, but quite where he fits in will be a tough decision for Southgate.
The obvious port of call for the left-footed Palmer would be in place of Foden on the left wing, but Foden’s enterprise (albeit in the wrong parts of the field) means it could be Bukayo Saka who is at risk. Saka’s switch to left-back in place of the injured Kieran Trippier opened the door for Palmer to add a new dimension to England on Sunday and the time is right to give him his chance. He played a key role in the build-up to Harry Kane’s winner on Sunday and looks a nice price at 4.98 with kwiff to grab an assist.
England v Switzerland: Mighty Mainoo
It certainly isn’t all doom and gloom for England and aside from the winning goals, one of the big positives was the performance of 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo. Finding the right man to fill the central berth alongside Declan Rice has troubled Southgate throughout the tournament and having tried both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher in that role, he seems to have finally landed on the right man for the job.
Like Palmer, Mainoo earned just his sixth cap on Sunday and he played with a fearlessness that seems to come hand-in-hand with young age, often proving to be one of the very few showing any kind of spark in the forward areas. England are a long way from looking like a finely-tuned machine in attack, but each of Bellingham, Mainoo and Palmer are showing that youthful exuberance may be enough to dig their country out of the hole we find ourselves in.
England v Switzerland: Recommendations
Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 1.63 with kwiff
Back Cole Palmer to assist a goal @ 4.98 with kwiff
By Nick Seddon
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