The Prince of Wales will attend England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland today.
The Prince, who is the president of the Football Association, will be present to cheer on Gareth Southgate’s team in Dusseldorf as they seek to secure a place in the semi-finals.
He has already attended one of England’s games at the tournament, the group-stage draw with Denmark in Frankfurt.
Despite progressing to the last eight, England have failed to click into gear at the finals so far and face a Swiss team which comfortably eliminated holders Italy in the last-16.
It has been reported Southgate is considering a change in formation to a back three in a bid to improve England’s fortunes.
Southgate’s team were seconds away from going out in the last round before a Jude Bellingham overhead kick took their match against Slovakia to extra-time.
When is England’s next game?
England will play Switzerland today (July 6) at 5pm UK time.
Where is England vs Switzerland being played?
The match is in Dusseldorf, where neither England nor Switzerland have yet played at this year’s tournament. The ground is usually home to Fortuna Dusseldorf. For this competition, the capacity is 47,000.
What TV channel is it on?
It will be broadcast live on the BBC, whose pundits have so far been remarkably critical of England’s performances at Euro 2024. One of the themes of the tournament has been the strained relationship between Gary Lineker and the England team.
If Gareth Southgate’s men win their semi-final will be on ITV, with both channels – as always – sharing the final.
Who could England play in the semi-finals?
The other quarter-final on England’s side of the draw is tonight at 8pm, between Netherlands and Turkey.
England vs Switzerland predictions
England know they cannot afford another poor performance against a Switzerland side that has impressed so far in Germany. There will also be changes in defence with Marc Guehi suspended.
Expect this to be another long slog for England fans, with penalties a distinct possibility.
What sort of team are Switzerland?
The Swiss are now many people’s dark horses after their impressive victory over Italy.
Murat Yakin’s side finished second in Group A during the pool stages, behind hosts Germany, to earn their place in the round of 16 and then proceeded to play Italy off the park to claim a place in the quarter-finals.
Their star player is former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka who became the beating heart of Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title-winning season, and it is the same for his country. He leads by example and has even dialled down his temper a touch. Anything Switzerland do will go through him first.
Manager Yakin has implemented a 3-4-3 formation to help lean on his sides’ strongest area of the field, which is centre-backs. The impressive trio of Manuel Akanji, Nico Elvedi and Fabian Schar make up the back three.
What is the latest England news?
John Stones believes England’s ability to switch formations to a back-three gives them an advantage in their bid for glory at the European Championship.
At the last Euros there was a change in formation mid-tournament to face Germany in the last-16, then to face Italy in the finals. Gareth Southgate also used a back-three at the 2018 World Cup when England reached the semi-finals.
“We’ve done it in previous tournaments before, Germany I remember the last Euros, previously to that in 2018,” said Stones. “I think it’s a great thing to have in the locker for us as a team if we need to go to that and play that system, it’s something that shouldn’t be underestimated for us as a team that we can do it so easily and seamlessly, and kind of click together.
“I think they bring two different sides to the game, two different outlooks for us over the years. Opposition-wise as well it causes them a problem. I think we’re really fluid in both, and that comes down to us when we get out on the pitch that we’ve got to put it into practice.
“It’s down to the manager what he decides to do, and what he sees their weaknesses and strengths that we can bring to the game with whatever formation we decide to play.”
Southgate faces a dilemma on whether to stick with his original plan and use a now fit Luke Shaw off the bench or take a gamble and throw him straight into England’s starting line-up.
What are Switzerland saying?
Murat Yakin, the Switzerland manager, has said he feels for beleaguered Gareth Southgate but declared himself ready to plot England’s downfall at Euro 2024.
Yakin’s stock has never been higher nor Southgate’s lower going into the quarter-final, in which defeat for the latter will almost certainly spell the end of his eight-year reign after a succession of dreadful displays that put his side within seconds of being dumped out of the tournament.
The same fate could easily have befallen Yakin when the death of his mother in November coincided with a near-collapse in qualifying by Switzerland that triggered similar calls for him to be sacked.
So, while the 49-year-old was riding high after masterminding his country’s stunning round-of-16 victory over defending champions Italy – having already almost beat hosts Germany in the group stage – he was perfectly able to empathise on Tuesday with Southgate’s current plight.
“In all the conversations we’ve had over the last few years, I’ve had a good discussion with Gareth,” Yakin said. “I think we are on the same level. We understand each other, too.
“Of course, when you have great players and you can choose from a lot of players, when you have good players and you see the results, of course there are problems in England. That’s why you have to concentrate on the football game, not on what you read in the news. That’s the only thing we can do as coaches. I have experienced this personally over the past year too.
“It is not my role to explain England’s situation or the coach’s situation. But I expect England to be strong against us in this game.”
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