England face huge pressure to improve their standards as they face a Switzerland side looking to topple them in the Euro 2024 Quarter-Finals.
Gareth Southgate’s side admitted they were not good enough in a goal-shy Group Stage and a sloppy Round of 16 tie against Slovakia where they were seconds away from being eliminated, and against a team ranked 19th in the world, they will have to step up.
Switzerland possess several highly experienced players and plenty of goal threats, while they have only lost one of their last 18 matches since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup with a 6-1 defeat to Portugal.
Murat Yakin’s side are admittedly draw specialists, with nine of those 18 matches finishing all square since December 2022.
Whether or not this match goes the distance, though, it is expected to be a more attacking contest than the four games England have played before this, with Switzerland as keen as the Three Lions to use their high-quality technical players to their advantage.
The Swiss will be seeking to qualify for their first-ever European Championship Semi-Final in the contest, while England will make the final four for the fourth time in their history if they win.
England
Gareth Southgate can choose to stick or twist in this quarter-final, and his job may ultimately rest on which call he makes.
With Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi ruled out of the match after collecting his second booking of the tournament against Slovakia, Southgate must make at least one change to his starting XI.
The general consensus is that Ezri Konsa, who had an outstanding season at centre-back for Aston Villa, will replace Guéhi, beating Lewis Dunk and Joe Gomez to that spot.
Elsewhere, there is much to ponder and given rumours that spread like wildfire in midweek, it appears Southgate may be adopting a three-at-the-back system.
That would see Konsa join Kyle Walker and John Stones in defence, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to come in as a right wing-back.
On the left, Luke Shaw would be the obvious choice, but his lingering fitness issues create a problem of balance in the rest of the side.
If the Manchester United man is unable to start, the two candidates for the role would be Kieran Trippier and Bukayo Saka, with a decision likely to rest on whether Southgate wants to start Phil Foden in attack.
Foden can play a more central role in a 3-4-3 system, so whoever plays on the left must be able to provide width and defensive cover.
Alternative options Anthony Gordon and Ebere Eze are unlikely to be selected due to their lack of defensive nous, but they could be pivotal options off the bench.
Ultimately, given performances in the tournament so far, Saka would be the more exciting option at wing-back so can be expected to get the nod.
Meanwhile, there were fears about the fitness of Stones and Trippier after the Slovakia match as the latter went off in the 66th minute and the former was seen with strapping at full-time, but both are expected to shake off knee issues to play a full part.
England know that their substitutes will be key in this contest as they were against Slovakia.
Whoever starts between Shaw, Trippier and Saka, one of the others is likely to take over at some stage, while the likes of Ivan Toney, Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Eze have already impressed, and Adam Wharton, Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen will also be pushing to make an impact.
Switzerland
Boss Murat Yakin has steered his side through a tough set of games to remain unbeaten at this stage of the tournament and has not rotated too heavily.
Switzerland have the second-oldest squad remaining at the tournament, with an average age of 27.7 years, and have relied heavily on their experienced leaders so far.
Regular starters Yann Sommer, Fabian Schär, Ricardo Rodriguez, Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo all have more than 65 international caps, while only four England players can boast the same level of experience.
The Swiss have stuck with the same 3-4-3 system throughout the tournament and will be expected to only tinker with a couple of personnel in this contest.
Their three defenders in front of Sommer have not changed, and Schär and Rodriguez should keep their places on either side of Manuel Akanji.
Xhaka and Freuler have been unmoved in midfield thus far, and Embolo should be certain of a place up front.
Dilemmas remain out wide, as Michel Aebischer and Fabian Rieder impressed as wing-backs against Italy despite not being regulars in the Group Stage, while several talented players are competing for starts in attack.
Ruben Vargas should expect to start on the right after his scorcher of a goal against the Italians, while Yakin will want a speedy and physical player on the left to face up with Walker, with Dan Ndoye, Noah Okafor, Kwadwo Duah and Zeki Amdouni all being possibilities.
The only minor injury concern in the build-up to this contest concerned Xhaka, who missed a day of training before the Italy match after feeling a strain in his left adductor muscle. He had an MRI scan for this on Monday but is expected to play without any issues.
England
Pickford; Walker, Stones, Konsa; Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Mainoo, Saka; Bellingham, Foden; Kane
Switzerland
Sommer; Schär, Akanji, Rodriguez; Widmer, Xhaka, Freuler, Aebischer; Vargas, Embolo, Ndoye
England – Bukayo Saka
Needing a big performance from so many of their players after an underwhelming tournament to date, England would be grateful for any standout contributions in Düsseldorf.
Having starred in their opening fixture against Serbia but disappointing since, Saka is in particular need of an impressive game.
England’s Player of the Year in 2022-23 has produced several electric performances when needed in the past, notably with his hat-trick against North Macedonia in Euro 2024 qualifying, as well as goals against Iran and Senegal at the 2022 World Cup.
The Arsenal star is equally capable of threatening when cutting inside or driving to the by-line, and against a stern Swiss defence whether he plays on the left or the right, Saka will have a huge say on the game.
Unlike Foden, Saka has not relied on an overlapping full-back during the tournament and should be able to thrive if asked to serve as a wing-back in this outing.
Saka has huge trust from his teammates to get in behind defences and make the telling pass to Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham, as he showed with the assist for Bellingham’s goal against Serbia.
However, the 22-year-old has taken a back seat since, and despite playing 120 minutes against Slovakia was more noticeable for his unselfish contributions as a temporary left-back than in attack.
Undoubtedly, England need to find a way to free Saka up again, as the unpredictability and directness of his forward play is central to re-energising a spluttering attack.
They will hope that even if given the tough task of playing at wing-back, the prodigious wide man can still make a big impact.
Switzerland – Ruben Vargas
During this match, it could pan out that both sides rely heavily on their right-hand side to create the most problems.
Switzerland will be only too aware of England’s identity crisis on the left, and after a stunning goal, crucial assist and excellent all-round performance against Italy, Vargas is the man tasked with punishing an unproven Konsa, or whoever is picked at left-back or left wing-back.
The Augsburg forward, who has previously been linked with a move to Crystal Palace, has rarely been the star for his country until now with just seven goals in his first 46 caps.
For his club, too, he is often a workhorse who gets taken off midway through the second half. He lasted 90 minutes just three times in the Bundesliga last season and grabbed just four goals and four assists.
However, when paired with Embolo in attack, Vargas has the perfect foil for his surging runs and threat around the edge of the box.
The two combined beautifully against Italy and manager Yakin will be hoping the combination can work just as well again, as Vargas will need to stretch Saka, Shaw or Trippier as much as possible and also restrict England’s options out wide, cutting off the supply lines to Gordon, Eze or Foden.
There are few more unselfish characters who could stick to this task, so it will be fascinating to see how Vargas performs.
Where is the game being played?
The Quarter-Final is being contested at the Düsseldorf Arena and will be the fifth and final game of this tournament hosted at the 47,000-seater stadium.
England have never played at the current Düsseldorf Arena – which was completed in 2004 – while Switzerland have played there once, losing 3-1 in a February 2007 friendly against Germany.
The last time England played in Düsseldorf, at the old Rheinstadion, they lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in a disastrous Euro 1988 Group Stage campaign.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off is at 17:00 BST on Saturday 6 July. This is 18:00 local time and Swiss time.
How can I watch?
For UK viewers, the match will be broadcast live on BBC One, with coverage starting from 16:00 BST.
Highlights will also be broadcast on BBC One later on Saturday, being shown from 22:20 BST.