After impressing in their games this tournament, Switzerland come into Saturday’s game full of hope that they can progress to their first-ever semi-final at a major tournament when they take on a less-than-inspiring England side.
Switzerland have entertained football fans with their fast, free-flowing, positive style of football, where Granit Xhaka and Remo Freuler pass between the lines to tricky players like Rubén Vargas, who supply dangerous balls for Breel Embolo to attack – constantly asking different questions of the opposition’s defence.
And all this attacking threat is covered by a solid and experienced defence made up of Yann Sommer in goal, with the likes of Fabian Schär and Manuel Akanji just ahead of him, allowing the players further up the pitch the freedom to play.
That being said, the Swiss still head into the game as second favourites to progress and will have to be on their guard against an England side that is still full of talent despite not appearing to be.
For many England fans, there has been disappointment with the style of football and the manner of performances so far with the team making hard work of, arguably, relatively straight-forward opposition like Slovakia.
Performances have been labelled ‘imbalanced’ and ‘unorganised’ but there is hope that the England players can put this behind them with a stellar showing to get through to the next round.
There is no denying England’s talent with star-players like Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Phil Foden but based on the performances so far, they are in for a long evening against a well-organised, confident Swiss outfit determined to make history.
Foden or Palmer?
The 2023/24 Premier League campaign saw Phil Foden achieve his greatest season yet, seeing him become an integral part of the history-making Manchester City side that won their fourth domestic title in a row.
His natural-born talent and footballing intelligence, partnered with a master tactician guiding his play saw his game reach new heights with 27 goal contributions in 35 games for his boyhood club.
It was a phenomenal season and expectation of this form continuing into the summer for England was strong.
But it has all fallen a bit flat.
England fans have had to watch on in bemusement at a player who every weekend tore defences apart in sky blue, struggling to do anything remotely threatening or interesting.
So far, apart from two offside goal contributions, his greatest Euro 2024 memory going into the Switzerland game is his 77th-minute yellow card against Slovenia.
Joking aside, the doubt over Foden’s suitability in Gareth Southgate’s system had grown after every game, leading to the inevitable demands for him to be dropped, particularly in favour of former-teammate Cole Palmer, who when called upon has offered some promising moments.
Palmer’s impact has only been felt in the last two matches but his introduction saw more creativity, more risk and more opportunities, leading to fans calling for a straight swap of the two players.
For Southgate, it is a real dilemma, particularly for a man who has seemed reluctant to change things up top in all of England’s Euro 2024 matches.
But for this Saturday’s semi final decider, he needs to think carefully about whether he should stick or twist with many believing the latter.
Unshakeable Xhaka
Whilst England ponder over their potential midfield make-up and wonder who will lead the team onto victory, for Swiss fans things are a little different.
Captain, Granit Xhaka, has played every minute for the Switzerland during this tournament and is a rock for them in the midfield, leading his team through games by levelling heads and connecting the defence to the attack.
With the perfect mix of experience, talent and presence, Xhaka offers Switzerland something a lot of other nations do not have – a dictator of play, making him key to their success this Saturday.
And on top of that, the man does not know how to lose.
Having been an integral part of Xabi Alonso’s unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen team in the Bundesliga, the last twelve months has seen the Swiss captain lose only two games, one for Switzerland against Romania and another for Leverkusen in the Europa League final against Atalanta.
We can expect to see another captain’s performance from Xhaka this weekend and potentially one to remember, which will go a long way in replacing English football fans’ last memory of Xhaka at Arsenal telling his own fans to “f**k off” four years ago.
A defensive shake-up
Despite the attack underwhelming England fans, many have been pleasantly surprised by the solid and assured performances of the defence in these championships, in particular with Crystal Palace player Marc Guéhi.
Guéhi has looked comfortable at home during the campaign alongside John Stones in the middle and has done well to stifle opposition attacks, keep things at the back calm and to, at least, try and push his team up the pitch.
But with a second yellow card in the previous game against Slovakia, England will have to do without their current Player of the Tournament for Saturday’s Quarter Final game, giving rise to some doubts over England’s chances.
At the same time, however, Luke Shaw is expected to be available this weekend, which will offer Southgate a natural left-footer to pick from when making his defensive decisions.
Rumours have been rife around a change of formation against Switzerland and partnered with some positive injury news, it leaves England fans pondering over which players will start and where they will play.
Even if there is not much change in the attack for England, fans can certainly expect to see new faces brought into the backline this weekend.
The perfect balance
Few nations have come into Euro 2024 with a more balanced team than Switzerland.
The Swiss have a delicate balance of all the aspects that make up a top team, including experience, youth, intelligence, flair, pace and strength, and to top it all off, they look at ease playing with each other.
Their defence is solid and the experience of Yann Sommer and Manuel Akanji combine for a natural understanding between each other, giving assurance from the back.
Attacking-wise, Switzerland have quick, creative talents in Rubén Vargas, Fabian Rieder and Zeki Amdouni that dance between defenders, take them on and deliver dangerous balls to the strong Breel Embolo, who chases and grapples with centre backs.
And if it did not need to be said again, it is all tied up and brought together by the Swiss captain, Granit Xhaka who pulls the strings, connecting the two ends of the formation.
For England, any chance of them emerging victorious is dependent on their ability to disrupt this balance and make Switzerland uncomfortable on and off the ball.