England’s flawless penalty shoot-out beats Switzerland in Euro 2024 quarter-final

Pickford’s mind games and the secrets of England’s penalty shoot-out victory over Switzerland

Player ratings: Pickford the hero but Kane looks jaded

Saka’s penalty redemption just reward for outstanding talent of generation

Irritated again by a question about avoiding good teams in tournaments, highlighting eight Champions League winners in Germany game England won in 2021.

“Are you sure you’re not English? I understand you’d rather not have to jump the Grand National to win a tournament. I’m not really sure what to say, it’s the madness of this job. We’ve had an enjoyable night and I’m going to try and keep it enjoyable if I can.”

On Kane

“He’s leading the team incredibly well, he;s such a positive influence round the camp. He cramped up as he fell off the pitch and we just felt we needed legs and we knew that Ivan as well that if we went to penalties we still had a penalty taker on the field, a regular one.”

Dancing in front of fans?

“Every now and then you have to think surely there has to be some enjoyment in this job. If you can’t enjoy that moment then it’s a waste of time. I love the players and sharing that moment with them. I can’t deny that when it’s as personal as it has been in the last few weeks on a human level, that’s quite difficult.

Are England the new Germany?

“There’s what we ideally want to be and how we’ve needed to find ways to win with all the obstacles we’ve had. With England it was often 25 minutes really well, ahead in games and in the knockout rounds we weren’t savvy or tournament wise. This group is different. We keep possession for longer periods. We haven’t always got it right but in general we’ve shown the presilience that the teams who win tournaments show for years and years. It’s not all pure football, it’s other attributes that they’ve had. We’re showing a little bit more of that streetwise nature.

Southgate unusually spiky about line-up England’s plans for the game being revealed:  

“Our tactical plan was also shared three days before the game. We live in an amazing world. Any element of surprise you might have with the tactical plan is gone three days before.”

Bukayo Saka:

“I gave him a massive cuddle on the pitch. He’s a dream to work with, a lovely boy... His performance was immense.”

Being quite coy about the specifics of the penalty process, picking who goes where in the order, moves discussion back to excellence of his players but does praise contribution of the other goalkeepers in the squad and Tom Heaton who is along in a coaching / vibe-lifting role.

Jude Bellingham:

“His performance was very good. The goat the other night gave him a huge lift and he’s been able to play in a couple of different positions for us. We tried to get him to stay in the centre as much as possible. He managed to do a disciplined job for the team in the end as well.”

Is there any thought of entertainment?

“I’m sorry for that, but our intention is to always play well with the ball. In football you have an opponent that is playing to stop you. These are not normal football matches these are national events with huge pressure and young men in the middle of it.”

Southgate looking pretty chuffed as he arrives to the lectern and has a long gulp on his water.

“I thought we played well all night. WE had to be so good without the ball. They’re a good team, their shape causes you problems but the rotation of that shape too.”

“People like Bukayo had to do such a good job without the ball as well as being such a valuable outlet with it too.”

“These players are showing incredible reserves of character and determination.”

Says he watched Spain and spoke to team about it, how they mixed up their game to beat Germany.

Change in mindset for penalties:

“We think we’ve got a good process. We’ve been in four we’ve won three*. Of course we got absolutely crucified for the one we lost.”

*He is including the Nations League semi against Switzerland which is both absolutely valid and quite forgettable.

It is probably all in all our best performance, we dominated. We were comfortable defensively but did not create those big chances.

We showed character and mentality in the shoot-out. To take a penalty with all that pressure is a special thing.

These moments are only special if you go on to win the tournament. We have to back it up in a few days.

History tells us that [we don’t do things the easy way]. The player s were brilliant. I think it was the best we played and we caused them a lot of problems with the ball. They are a very difficult opponent. They press. They are hard to defend against. Their movement is good. To come from behind the way we did.

It’s something we’ve spoken to the players about. inning tournaments is not just about playing well. I thought we did play well today but you have to show all the other attributes and we did that tonight. 

So brave [Bukayo]. He is one of our best so he was always going to take one. But we all know what he went through [assailed by racists on social media after missing in the Euro 2020 final]. 

Not just him. Trent and Ivan came on to take one. Cole, he’s like an old man. Huge performance, huge result and we are still in it. 

Character can get you a long way but we played well. Tactically we were spot on. We are in a third semi-final which says a lot about the whole group. 

We knew we needed to get pressure on their back three and it’s hard to do without changing shape. It’s hard to press their goalkeeper all the time and they want you to do that. Couple of times we did that they got in behind us so we had to be disciplined.

I thought Phil was a real problem for them. Some of the balls in the box we needed more men in the box but I think it was the best we played. 

There’s a few hearts slipping a beat out there. Another tough game. Great resilience from the lads to go a goal down and come back. Great result. Fantastic finish from B [Saka]. Penalties are penalties but I felt comfortable with the lads [out there]. We do a lot of practice. We trust in whoever’s on the pitch. We’ve got proven penalty takers this time: B, Ive, Cole …

Unbelievable. For B to play a new position and to play the we he did, with and without the ball, and to score the penalty in the manner he did. Incredible.

I’m fine. I had a bit of cramp after tripping over the water bottles, both calves cramped. 

And so far they are being true to their word. 

I’m going to put this night right up there. Special. Special.  I felt we dominated the whole game and would get another chance.

Everyone knows what happened at the last Euros … I’m proud of myself. I have faith in God to come back from something like [his miss in the 2020 final] that is difficult but I used it to make me stronger.

It shows how much we want to win the tournament. In the past two games we have gone down and come back. Hopefully we can win the next game in 90 minutes but whatever it takes …

These are the goals we set for ourselves. Difficult opponents and we went behind. Dug deep when it mattered most, lots of heart and fight. We knew it was going to be tight. And we win in the penalty shoot-out

Whatever it takes, we win and that’s all that matters to us. 

Great save by Pickers! The penalties are what we practise for. A lot of practice goes into that moment. When the Gaffer tells me I’m taking one my belly doesn’t drop. I enjoy it. I always knew where I was going to hit it. 

Every quarter final has gone to extra time. It’s tight margins [at this level]. The finest of margins today but we’re through. 

Talk about pressure on Trent with that last pen. England are still in there. That’s all that matters tonight. Hopefully a performance to match the results is still to come.

Pickford, for saving from Manuel Akanji who is being consoled by his team-mates and some England players too. And in order Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold all found the corners with unsaveable shots and iron nerve. 

And England are celebrating in relief as well as joy. 

And will play Turkey or Holland in Dortmund on Wednesday.

Five brilliant penalties. Stones of steel 

England 5 Switzerland 3

Up he steps

Straight down the middle

England 4 Switzerland 3

Never any doubt. Sommer goes the right way but he hits the side netting on the left. 

England 4 Switzerland 2

Bends it perfectly into the side netting on the right.

England 3 Switzerland 2

Redemption! Passes it into the side netting bottom right. 

England 3 Switzerland 1

Slotted bottom right. 

England 2 Switzerland 1

Rolls it into the bottom right after a stutter run. 

England 2 Switzerland 0

Rubbish pen but a good save by Pickford to his left. 

England 1 Switzerland 0

Sits the keeper down and slots it to the left. 

England 1 Switzerland 0

Palmer steps up for England. 

A few observations from the pre-penalty pow-wow. Striking that Switzerland’s entire squad and another team’s worth of support staff are crowded around their team. England keep to the bare minimum, seemingly an intentional ploy to reduce the number of voices and distractions. Stones was down for a while and in need of a leg-rub but Southgate looked keen for him to get to his feet ASAP. Big roar as Walker wins the toss. Must be deeply weird for Kane to be in the banished group, watching from the technical area.

As a colleague points out, Portugal lost in front of their fans last night. 

Hello, old friend. That England Euros penalty shoot-out record in full.

Won 1: Vs Spain 1996 Lost 4: Vs Germany 1996, Vs Portugal 2004, Vs Italy 2012, Vs Italy 2021.

On we go with England on the attack but the cross can’t be found. When the final pass is knocked long into the box, Zuber seems to shove Toney over but the referee shakes his head and blows his Acme Thunderer. 

Amdouni, who has just come on, smacks a vicious shot from 22 yards that Pickford bats away and then Widmer blazes over from 15 yards out. 

Shaqiri sees Pickford standing at the back post and tries to score direct from the corner, rattling the post with the ferocity of his swerving, dipping cross. Pickford gets tangled in the net but scrambles his way back out and England see it off. 

Brilliant covering from Saka when Shaqiri sends Zuber down the left and he switches across to Widmer galloping down the right. Only him and Pickford in the picture and Pickford looks like he’s coming out but then thinks again and scuttles back. Saka gets back to make the tackle and put it behind for a corner. 

Saka on the left, Trent A-A on the right. 

Switzerland twice isolate Eze with crosses from the left, the first time the ball falls to Widmer who has a clear path to goal but Shaw makes a tremendous block and then Schar blazes over, leaning back.

Alexander-Arnold ⇢ Foden. 

Bellingham looks spent but stays on.  

Eze’s cross from the left is blocked and Switzerland try to break but Shaqiri’s pass is all wrong and Walker cuts it out, short of Zuber. He instigates another attack with Bellingham on the deck after a collision but Palmer’s attempt to slalom through the box comes a cropper. 

Kane crashes into the England dugout and an ice box when challenged by Akanji as they chased a long pass. He skids into Southgate, too, who tries to catch him. 

That’s his race run:

Toney ⇢ Kane.

Shaqiri is on too for Switzerland, replacing Embolo.  

Switzerland are playing at walking pace but clinging on to the ball. Now they pick up the tempo to attack down the right but Rodriguez’s pass is intercepted and knocked upfield, short of Kane. 

No further changes. Kane goes down after Xhaka heads the back of his head. The ref stops the game but Kane doesn’t want/need treatment. 

Game looked to be ebbing away again for England, who cannot be trusted when the intensity drops. Surprise left wing-back Eze galvanised his team with a won tackle and run upfield. That brought a reasonable few minutes of attacking intent culminating in Bellingham’s shot straight at Sommer. 

Not sure the players are as desperate to avoid penalties as the rest of us. England fans have gone quiet again. Watching the late subs with interest. Toney, given his record from the spot, will surely be called upon?

Comfortably Foden’s best game of the tournament and he has a couple of glimpses of threading passes through to Kane but can’t make it. 

Pretty much wall-to-wall positivity still inside the BBC studio as the match goes into extra-time. “What football does to us - despair one moment elation the next; misery and merriment in equal measure - gee whizz,” declares Gary Lineker, before cautiously adding: “Perhaps he should have freshened it up earlier - easy to say in hindsight.”

Despite most people already imploring Gareth Southgate to make changes, the England manager also got the benefit of the doubt from the pundits.

“Brave - that’s what you want from your manager,” said Micah Richards, generously, about Southgate waiting until England fell behind before making changes. Rio Ferdinand was also not going to complain: “This is what you want - you want it to go back and forth; you want goals and chances.”

England fall between two stools with the free-kick but Switzerland are struggling to handle England’s mercurial substitutes. Foden’s shot from 20 yards is blocked, Saka’s cross just eludes Kane and then Bellingham has a shot with his right that rebounds back to him and then tries again with his left, aiming for the top left but Sommer skips to his right to claim it. 

Schar trips Eze and receives a final warning before a second yellow card after being turned and spun,

Zakaria ⇢ Ndoye. 

England maintain a spell of probing until Palmer falls flat on his face and claims for a foul that the referee refuses to give. Schar hits a 60-yard diagonal looking for Ndoye but Walker gets ahead of him and almost makes a horse of his back-pass, leaving it well short of Pickford who scrambles to race out and just beat the forward. 

Rice latches on to a pass 25 yards out after good work from Palmer down the left. He bends his shot towards the right post and Sommer, with a headlong dive, tips it round for a corner. 

Aebischer bends a cross from the left that Schar rounds Eze to meet in the box on the half-volley but slips and slaps it over the bar, giving Pickford a minor scare as he was preparing for a cross. 

No further changes before Switzerland kick off. Bellingham is playing closer to Rice with Palmer and Eze on the left. 

Say England win this. It’s possible. Probable, even, if they can keep playing like they did after Saka’s gorgeous equaliser. What is the forthcoming Netflix / BBC / Disney Plus documentary about this tournament going to look like.

Because win it and England are in the semi-final. A revered achievement in 1996 and 1990, two eternal summers in the psyche of the English football fan. Somehow it does not feel like this will be in that lineage. Unless, unless, unless, England can see this out in extra time and begin building a late tournament vibe-wave based on their grittiness and never-say-die approach.

It’s also an often-say-sigh approach, so suspect we’re on for penalties.

Once again the substitutions save England but they always seem to come too late. Never to turn the screw and go for glory, more to save the day. It’s a 16-17 player game these days, There is no penalty to making them earlier. 

England went for it to get back into the game, and in that frantic final period looked like they might win it, but now they look all over the place in terms of where everyone is playing. They need some structure back in extra time. I’m not sure about Eze at wing back and Bellingham looks a bit tired with a lot of ground to cover in midfield now.

Oh my word. Schar crosses wonderfully from the right, the ball dipping perfectly for Ndoye’s diving header at the back post but Embolo either doesn’t hear his call or wants it himself and his touch, falling backwards, takes it off his team-mate’s brow. 

Schar crosses low from the right and Stones hammers it out for a throw on halfway. Proper Row Z defending there. 

Schar, who has been booked, is given one more life when he clatters into Palmer from behind wide on the left. Free-kick parallel with the 18-yard line. Sommer paws Foden’s cross away. Palmer has another go and swerves it in menacingly but again Switzerland see it off. 

Three minutes of stoppage time are signalled.

Great dummy run by Shaw takes Widmer away from Eze, allowing the Palace winger to cut back on his right to shoot but he pulls it wide. Foden was screaming for a pass. 

Bellingham tries to dribble through the box but is tackled. Rice snaps on to the deflection and taps it down the line for Saka who stands his cross up too deep for Palmer. 

Eze is at left wing-back and Shaw, socks slung low, at left centre-back of three. 
 

We said ten minutes ago to be proactive. Instead Southgate has been reactive. He did this in the last game and got lucky. Now he has had more luck because England were sleepwalking towards defeat before the equaliser.

Fine finish from Saka who comes in from the right again and bends a cross towards the penalty spot. Kane controls it and sets it perfectly for Palmer but Kane instead swivels to shoot himself and is block-tackled by Akanji. 

England 1 Switzerland 1 (Saka)  Lines up Aebischer, cuts in from the right on to his left rather than taking him down the outside and thumped a low shot in off the right post. Thank goodness for that. 

Wonderful goal. England keep on keeping on don’t they? Just when I thought I was out etc… Slight query about how they now set up for the rest of this game. Kane, Saka, Foden, Bellingham, Eze, Palmer, plus Shaw and Walker pushing on. That is quite an attacking team. Front line has the look of the flightpath over West London going into Heathrow.

Here come the changes: Palmer, Shaw and Eze come on for Mainoo, Trippier and Konsa. 

Bellingham’s number initially went up but he hasn’t gone off.

This is the price you pay for delaying changes when things are palpably not working. The second half has been a whimper. 

England 0 Switzerland 1 (Embolo)  Schar cuts in from the right on to his left and slips a ball down the line of the penalty box to Ndoye who feeds a cross through the six-yard box. Stones slices his clearance/block and it spins to the back post where Embolo holds off Walker to stab it in. 

England throw high on the left that Trippier works to Bellingham who is unfortunate to concede a free-kick when Xhaka stoops to head the ball and wears it in the mooey. The ref thinks Bellingham kicked him but it was the ball. 

Yakin has successfully stemmed the tide of balls out to Saka since half-time and England have struggled to come up with an alternative outlet. 

England having a rougher patch now and could do with a bit more from their fans. We’re into the endless Great Escape band section of the game now, but there have been so many excellent player-specific chants heard in stations and bars throughout this tournament. They rarely seem to get enough combined support to get a proper airing inside the stadium. Think they might need some of those fans down the front leading the way with megaphones. When in Germany…

The brave move here is Anthony Gordon for Trippier.  Trippier has been a left winger for most of the game. Switzerland have been poor but their best chance is the game drifting. So it is time to be proactive!

Kane is booked for supposedly catching Akanki in the face but eh barely touched him and then sprints back to make a tackle on the 18 yard line as England retreated, inviting Ndoye to shoot. England have gone back into their shell.

Poor header from Stones in the box following Konsa’s better defensive header from Rodriguez’s cross. Aebischer flies in to volley, fortunately wildly. 

England should have a corner when Zuber gets a toe on Foden’s left-wing cross to take it away from Bellingham. Zuber protests when the ref awards it and he about-turns on his decision. But he did touch it. 

Kane buys a foul by turning away from Aebischer after Mainoo;’s interception stopped a long wave of Swiss probing.

Two Switzerland changes:

Widmer ⇢ Rieder
Zuber ⇢ Vargas. 

Vargas beats Trippier and Konsa down the Swiss right and sweeps a pass towards the middle of the box. Walker steps ahead of Embolo to knock it away as he was about to spin on to the ball. England are rocking a bit here. 

Rieder’s second corner is cut out at the near post by Rice. 

Konsa sprints alongside the rap-rap-rapido Ndoye and stops the cross as the winger flooded into the open field behind Trippier. Rice comes over to help and put it out for a corner that brings another when Saka heads a cross back into the box behind. 

Rodriguez bends a left-foot cross into the box, arcing it away from Pickford. Embolo, who had peeled off to the back post, launches himself like an arrow, Sniffer Clarke style, but so does Konsa and the centre-forward’s header hits Konsa’s back and bounces up tamely to Pickford. Terrific defending. 

More signs of life, more signs of Bellingham and Foden nullifying one another. Two minutes into the half there was a promising passing move involving Bellingham he executed a give-and-go but the “go” was instinctively out to the right wing.

England had the ball on that side and the next logical move would be a run or pass into the middle, but instead we had two of the world’s best number 10s standing five yards from one another on the touchline.

Relief to see Konsa up and moving comfortably after his kick to the knee from Embolo. While we’re all feeling relatively optimistic, or at least less livid, I think Southgate deserves recognition for how well England have defended all tournament.

So many worries beforehand were about the lack of options, and that was even before Maguire was injured. In practice Guehi has been arguably England’s player of the tournament and now Konsa has stepped into a new system and is playing well. That can only be coaching and management.   

Foden blindsides the dawdling Xhaka inside the England half but Kane has dropped too deep to be an outlet and England have to settle for a throw instead of knocking it long for the centre-forward. He may well score at some point. But he could score more if he were prepared to be more selfish. 

Intelligent work from Konsa again, this time in his own box, when he sticks to Embolo, refuses to be rolled and stops him finding a gap to shoot through with any power. He took a kick across the knee for doing his duty. After a few seconds he shakes the pain away. 

A change in formation for England; and a dramatic shift in tone on the BBC sofa. Not quite cheerleading but a hugely upbeat assessment of England, despite a goalless first-half during which England have not had a shot on target, much less score.

“No goals but no complaints - significantly better England performance - nice to be able to be positive,” said Gary Lineker.

Rio Ferdinand believes that moving Phil Foden into a No.10 role has been the key: “We look like a team that understands how to press and keep the ball - a huge improvement; I see a goal coming. This is the England I anticipated seeing in this tournament.”

Lineker is also adamant that we should not be concerned about the lack of goals.

“No shots on target but you wear teams down this way - a little bit to smile about so far,” he said.

Vargas makes a mountain out of Walker’s lunge. He may have caught him on the tip of the big toe with his back two studs, I suppose. But it’s the first significant pause we’ve had all match. 

Bellingham glides down the left with Trippier outside him to occupy the wing-back. Using the left-back as a decoy, Bellingham feeds a pass in towards the penalty spot that catches Freuler on the heel before it can reach Kane. Bellingham snaps on to the ball again and floats a deep cross that passes over Kane but Saka retrieves, turns and shoots into Rodriguez’s shins. 

No changes at half-time which starts promptly at 6pm, the ref having blown for the break bang on 45 minutes. 

It’s a low base, admittedly, but this is better. The shape suits England much more comfortably. The left side lacks the width of the right and there is an argument Saka would be better off on that left side but so far he’s had Aebischer on toast down Switzerland’s left. It’s been so much better from Rice, Mainoo and Bellingham. Saka has continued his form. He’s been the standout. Stones has looked composed. Pickford’s distribution has been good. Kane has been the least effective of the attacking players. Switzerland are a good side and, save for the opening stages, England have swallowed up the territory and pinned them back. Now for the goal.

Are largely enthused, particularly by the performances of Konsa, Mainoo, Bellingham, Foden and Saka. But not much mention of Kane whose movement is infuriating most of the people I’ve been reading at half-time. 

It felt like a half of two halves. A promising start with more energy but then it petered out a bit. It reminded me of the Serbia game, minus a goal. Saka has obviously been the stand-out player by some distance. What is encouraging is England are playing better without the ball, and have managed to nullify Switzerland’s threats.

What is fundamentally different about this England performance compared to those against Slovakia, Slovenia and Denmark? It takes a bit of creative interpretation to say. It can help to focus on one spot then relax your eyes, like looking at a Magic Eye.

Crucially, they seem in charge. It helps that they have not conceded, unlike against Slovakia and Denmark, but it is more about the ball moving forward with a little more regularity and a bit more sense and pattern to the passing moves.

Couple of threatening Swiss attacks but they petered out as the game wore on and their threat looks overstated on this evidence. Game is there to be won.

Better from England, more coherent, and the press if being triggered properly. They look like scoring with their dominance down the right but need much, much more from their captain. Foden is far better at inside-right than outside left. But still no shot on target. 

For the third or fourth time Saka takes on Aebischer, beats him on the outside and gets to the byline to cut it back for Mainoo who draws his leg back to shoot but Xhaka lances out his leg to knock it behind for a corner that Trippier floats down Sommer’s throat

Vargas comes back to help Aebischer deal with Saka and it works, at the cost of an England throw. 

This is the Kobbie Mainoo we hoped we would see for England, based on some of his breakthrough Man Utd performances. Fearless, careful with the ball in tight areas and if he can’t find a pass he’ll often win his team a free kick instead. He and Saka looking England’s best so far, and I remain impressed by Konsa too.

Do not want to labour the point on Kane but he is really trundling about the place. I’ve seen him play plenty of games where he looks either unfit or uninterested then does something decisive in the final minutes, but in a generally more energetic England performance so far he is not showing much sign of improvement on what has gone before.

England have the ball but are growing frustrated by the positioning of Trippier and Kane who keep coming too close to the ball carrier. England want to stretch Switzerland but can’t do it with those two refusing to push on. 

Bright points for England are confined to the right side but Bellingham is starting to have an influence on the left. Pickford takes a goal kick and whacks it straight over Kane and through to Sommer. 

One of the worst things in this tournament has been how poor England’s pressing has been. Today it has been really good, semi man-to-man. That’s the stand out so far. On the negative side, Harry Kane is too static. Saka has gone beyond the defence a few times and Kane needed to be in the penalty box for the deliveries.

And here he is, gliding down the left, spinning Schar with a drag back with his sole and then accelerating off in the other direction to feed the ball to Saka on the right. Bellingham continues his run and Saka bends a pass with his left-foot down the inside right that Bellingham tries to flick in from a few yards but the ball raced between his legs unmolested by his heel.  

England need to get the ball up to Bellingham more. 

Schar is booked for barging Bellingham over after running 50 yards up the left to relieve some pressure after Rieder’s cross was turned out of the box at the near post by Konsa. England, 10 yards inside the Swiss half, knock the free-kick all the way back to Pickford. The keeper passes to Mainoo who lets the ball run past him to beat a man and then carries it to the edge of the Switzerland box with a darting dribble. Mainoo lays it off to Trippier whose right-foot cross hits Freuler’s hand, which was raised above his head, but the referee waved play on. It was outside the box but even so. He acted like a goalie there. 

England corner on the right, again earned by Saka’s skill, he’s got Aebischer on toast but England need to make that advantage pay. England work the corner all the way back to Pickford. An exasperated cry rings around the Arena.  

Trippier, as is his wont, cuts back inside when in a promising position down the left and England have to switch to the right, arcing a diagonal to Saka who beats Aebischer again and crosses. Once again Kane is on his heels, not attacking the ball but standing still, waiting for the perfect pass. Saka needs more movement from Kane. 

I am ready to say it: this is an improved England performance. Quite good at times (!). They look as if they have a few different promising routes forward. Saka has done his marker Aebsischer three times now, Mainoo nearly worked himself into a promising shooting position on an urgent run forward.

It’s just Foden and Bellingham bothering me at the moment, they seem to get sucked into one another’s orbit and end up occupying similar spaces. It’s the modern day Lampard and Gerrard. Kane a bit of a worry too. Weird floaty header from the corner and his turning circle seems quite… ship-y? Will be hugely unsurprised if he reveals he has been playing through pain for the entirety of this tournament.

Embolo, who isn’t afraid to stay high, receives the ball after a Bellingham pass was intercepted and knocked up to him. He turns to shoot with his left but Konsa made a fine block tackle. Moments later Stones just noses ahead of  Aebischer to stop the left wing-back pouncing on a threaded pass down the left of the D. 

Good work by Rice on the cover to stop Embolo bullocking down the inside-right channel. Shearer wants quicker passing and he’s right. 

Kane stands on the 18-yard line when Foden chips out to Saka down the right and the Arsenal winger beats Aebischer and gets to the byline to cross. Switzerland welly it behind for a corner. Kane had to make a run. Why is he playing so timidly? Lead in his boots? Injured. A centre-forward who will not attack the box is no use in this system. 

Diligent defending from Kyle Walker to track the run of Freuler down the left of the box as the former Forest midfielder strained to get on the end of Embolo’s pass. 

First thing is the surprise that the wing backs are on opposite sides than we believed, with Trippier on the left. I’ve never heard of inverted wing backs before! It’s been a decent start from both sides. It looks like it has the makings of a good game with plenty of energy,

Excellent work from Rice to intercept and set up Kane, with his back to goal, in the area. Kane spins anti-clockwise and rolls the ball back to Mainoo whose thumping shot is deflected to the left of the box. Kane tries to retrieve it and is knocked down by Schar and wants a penalty. There was contact from the Newcastle man before he touched the ball but not enough for a pen, says Alan Shearer, with his Toon, rather than his England, hat on. 

Trippier dozily caught offside as England try to attack quickly, getting the ball from back to front with more urgency than we’ve seen. 

England enjoying a spell of pressure down the right, Saka beating Aebsischer and feeding the ball to Rice to shoot into a congested box whence it bobbles away. Earlier Foden had a snake-hipped swivel to beat Ajkanji and England have been pinging passes around encouragingly. 

Some encouraging early signs. Saka is mixing it up, sometimes out wide, often occupying Alexander-Arnold-esque territory, somewhere between touchline and centre circle which is giving England another passing option and allows Walker to provide width. He’s not done that much yet, but good to have options, isn’t it? Konsa has been called upon three times already and did what was required both times which should settle any butterflies.

Some less encouraging signs: England have been exposed already down either flank and Foden and Bellingham are both drifting around in search of a clear purpose, as they have been for most of the tournament. Rice and Mainoo being bypassed too easily on occasion by Switzerland. Their fans still making most of the noise but it’s quieter than you would like for a quarter-final.

Gary Lineker makes the claim, pre-match, that the BBC pundits would love to be “shut up” over the next 90 minutes. It followed a measured TV build-up that was very much focussed on the various tactical choices that Gareth Southgate faced, interspersed with repeated assertions that previous criticism was never personal to the manager leading England for the 100th time.

“In terms of the performance, the criticism has been valid, anyone who has seen the games and understands football to any level - would go, ‘These players play very differently to the way they are playing England shirts’,” said Rio Ferdinand, adding: “They’ve got to flip it. I’ve been in squads where we are getting criticised - you’ve got to go, ‘We will use it as a siege mentality - it’s going to be us against you- you are going to fire us up to win this and shut you up’.”

Lineker enthusiastically agrees: “We would love to be shut up!”

Nervy moments for England when a menacing cross from Aebischer comes in from the left that Konsa backpedals to head away from Rieder and then Pickford bats away a cross from the right. 

Ndoye gets in behind Trippier and takes a pass in his stride from Xhaka and fizzes a cross through the penalty box that Mainoo reads well and scrambles away. England under the pump. 

Looking more like a back three now with Saka and Trippier pushing high and Saka is caught offside when Bellingham lofts a diagonal. The officials allow play to carry on and Walker whips a low cross into the box that Akanji thumps away. Then the flag goes up. 

Slick Swiss move between Aebischer, Vargas and Rodriguez down the left opens the gap between Walker and Saka and then Aebischer drills a pass towards the penalty spot where it gets stuck under Embolo’s feet and Stones clears. 

Aebischer can’t control a crossfield pass and England have a throw on the right that Saka takes and receives back from Foden. Mainoo recycles to the left and then Foden, playing inside-right, knocks it back to Saka who bends an inswinger deep that Trippier just can’t reach beyond the back post. 

Looks like a back four to me from England. Konsa on Stones’ left and the Villa man comes out to win the ball from a long pass pumped upfield. 

England kick off. Just before the whistle, Xhaka lifts one leg of his shorts to show it heavily bandaged. Mainoo knocks it back and England launch it long up the right and out for a throw by the corner flah.

Trippier starts on the left and Saka on the right. 

All look intensely focused. Which they will maintain through two of the more solemn national anthems, God Save the King and the Schweizerpsalm.

Murat Yakin and Gareth Southgate embrace and vigorously pat each other’s backs. 

Swiss fans certainly outnumbered but I make them the noise champions of the pre-match exchanges. Far feistier than expected, although not sure their “God save the cheese” sign makes total sense. Southgate comes out ahead of his team, quietly sloping off to the dug-out after a slapped hand with fourth official Daniel Siebert. Pleasant smell of exploded fireworks drifting across the pitch after some pre-match glitz. 

How quickly will we know here if it is going to be another one of the testing, tedious matches which England have served up all tournament? I would imagine we will have a fair idea after 15 minutes.

Something I have noticed at a few games here is inferior teams starting brightly then dominant opponents beginning to exert control after about 10 minutes. Counter-intuitively I fear a good start from England as it casts them in the role of the underdog here. Equally, no need to panic if they are cagey to begin with and let Switzerland make the early running.

Of course the performance is basically irrelevant, any win will do. But wouldn’t it be nice to feel good about England again? It has been a while.

Is set to part of Alan Watts’ The Dream of Life. Interesting choice. 

On the left side of their defence where the veteran Ricardo Rodriguez sometimes does not check his shoulders at the back post and allows runners to come between him and the left wing-back. So England should rain crosses in from the left, which they will be better equipped to do with Bukayo Saka’s left foot. 

Odd pre-emptive Klopp-esque appreciation festival between Switzerland manager Murat Yakin and his adoring public. He was leading them in the syncopated cheering and seemed to be loving every moment. If Southgate tried that he’d be pelted with branded beer cups.

I’ve defended a lot of the team selections in this tournament, but I am baffled by this one. Picking Trippier over Alexander-Arnold at right wing back is strange. Trippier is not in especially good form, and Alexander-Arnold brings much more to that role as an attacking presence, with Kyle Walker covering him defensively. Trent must be confused.

Mike McGrath is the only one of our number here in the press box who called the line-up when asked for his predicted / hoped for XI yesterday. Happy to report he is celebrating modestly, rather than scaling the desk and shouting “Who else?!”

Good banner on show in the Switzerland end: Heidi is better than Sherlock. Let’s hope that noted reading fan Anthony Gordon doesn’t see that, although I have gleaned in the many reports about the Newcastle winger’s love of books that he doesn’t really bother with fiction. No harm done.

A genuine culture war, for once

Resilience will be key [tonight]. Watching yesterday’s games, it was a reminder that teams like Spain with a [distinct] style were drawn into going long because Germany pressed so well. They picked up seven or eight cards. Winning tournaments is more than [having an attractive] style of play. We will try to pose [Switzerland] as many problems as we can. 

We track the players all season and Ezri played really well against Brazil and Belgium. He has pace and has had a fantastic season with Aston Villa,

[Saka] works diligently for the team, he’s a huge threat in one-on-one situations, someone who always puts the team first.

We’re alays trying to get the best out of everybody and today is a brilliant opportunity to get to another semi-final. We’re playing a team that is playing well and full of confidence. We can’t give them the type of game that they want. 

We’ve changed formation to match what they do to try to get pressure up the field and retain the ball. For me that means a more central position and I think that’ll be good for me. If we get the formation right and hopefully press higher up the pitch, I think we’ll be more confident and play a bit better. In training it’s been working really well. Looking forward to put it into practice and hopefully we’ll get the rewards. We want to win for [the manager], yes. 

That means Alan Shearer is co-commentating. 

Our daily Euros newsletter is a digest of our best reporting, analysis and comment and arrives in your inbox to set you up for each day. Please sign up here. 

England  Pickford (Everton); Walker, Stones (both Man City), Konsa (Aston Villa); Trippier (Newcastle), Mainoo (Manchester United), Rice, Saka (both Arsenal); Bellingham (Real Madrid), Foden (Man City); Kane (Bayern Munich)/

Switzerland   Sommer (Inter); Schar (Newcastle), Akanji (Man City), Rodriguez (Torino); Ndoye (Bologna), Freuler Bologna), Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen), Aebischer (Bologna); Vargas (Augsburg), Rieder (Rennes); Embolo (Monaco).

Referee Daniele Orsato (Italy)

It is as expected. Three at the back, Konsa in for Guehi with Trippier at right wing-back. 

Outside every stadium at this tournament there are peppy volunteers armed with an easel and brush offering to paint faces. Straightforward paint selection today, given the colours of England and Switzerland’s flags. Saw a primary school-aged boy in full England kit standing as still as he could manage and wearing a serious expression as he had the cross of St George put on to his cheek.

On the way to the ground there was another nervous-looking boy with his dad on the crowded U-Bahn platform. There was a sudden squeeze to get on to the previous train, the sort which must be slightly frightening when surrounded by large men on their 11th tin of Bitburger. A chap helping to manage the crowds clocked this and got in front of the boy, made a fuss of him, ruffled his hair and said he’d make sure he got a seat on the next train.

Once on board it was perhaps 90:10 England:Switzerland. After several current faves from the England songbook one of the Swiss fans tried to respond in kind. He was shouted down, invited to stick a number of things up a predictable orifice. Toblerone, Rolex watch, Sound of Music, Roger Federer etc. Him and his friend took it all with good humour and there were slapped handshakes and smiles on both sides when we arrived at the stadium.

All of this to say that the scuffle between fans on the street of Dusseldorf last night does not feel representative of this tournament. There is an edge at times, of course, because when is there not at football? But there is so much more to take heart from than offence at.

An England win tonight will help prolong the happy mood. Less optimistic if this is to be the end.

England’s team bus is just arriving at the stadium, 90 minutes before kick-off. Harry Kane first off the bus.  

That today’s game is on BBC 1 in the UK, which means Messrs Lineker and Shearer trying to ape Peter Finch’s Howard Beale if they lose, Rio Ferdinand braying “Ballon d’Or!” whenever Jude Bellingham completes a pass, Micah Richards finding common cause with anyone “bursting on to the scene”, Danny Murphy and/or Martin Keown playing Eeyore on co-commentary and a cheesy pun to end it, win or lose. 

Good afternoon. Rob Bagchi taking over from Pippa Field for the rest of the build-up and the match itself. Common consensus based on various deep throats suggests that England will switch to three at the back with Konsa in for the suspended Guehi, Saka as a left wing-back, Trippier on the right. Which means only one change from the Slovakia game. I had hoped Trent Alexander-Arnold would come in for Trippier but that hope may well turn out to be forlorn.

As for Switzerland, Mainz’s Silvan Widmer is back from suspension and if he goes back in at right wing-back that should allow Murat Yakin to restore Bologna’s Dan Ndoye to a forward role which would mean Ruben Vargas or Fabian Rieder dropping to the bench. 

Gareth Southgate has reacted strongly over suggestions England have an easy draw at the European Championship, branding it as “entitlement” that has historically annoyed other countries.

England avoided Spain, Germany, France and Portugal and will face Turkey or the Netherlands if they defeat Switzerland in the quarter-finals. But when asked if he has told players that “these opportunities may not come around again”, Southgate insisted such a mindset has been the downfall of other Three Lions teams.

Read more: Southgate hits out at English ‘entitlement’ that ‘annoys our opponents’ at Euro 2024

Both managers were asked about whether Switzerland were “favourites” for this game. Gareth Southgate was also asked by one foreign journalist whether his team resembled a Rolls Royce compared to Switzerland’s Mini-Cooper. 

Looking down the years, England have a very good record against the Swiss and have lost only three times to them, the last time being in 1981 in a World Cup qualifier when Kevin Keegan and Bryan Robson were playing.  They have played three times in major tournaments, at the World Cup in 1954 and Euros in ‘96 and ‘04. 

Referee Daniele Orsato is retiring after the tournament after 18 years as a referee. He has officiated three matches at this tournament - and two of them involved England or Switzerland. Gareth Southgate’s team are walking a disciplinary tightrope in Dusseldorf but that is not down to Orsato - he did not book a single England player when he took charge of their win against Serbia. 

Telegraph Sport duo Matt Law and Mike McGrath have been discussing the expected England team news in their latest video from Germany

England are back in their traditional kit of white with blue shorts for today’s clash against Switzerland. They were in all-white for the win against Slovakia. 

The only other match of the Euros where they wore blue shorts was the draw with Denmark. This is the official colours of the strip that fans buy in the shops, although England have been wearing all-white for some games as Uefa prefer kits to be in the same colour. 

Switzerland are wearing their home kit (ranked No10 in Thom Gibbs’ Euros kit list) of red shirts, and maroon shorts. 

Should Gareth Southgate revert to three at the back? Does he start Luke Shaw? Should England play two up front? All questions many will have thoughts over ahead of the England line-up dropping shortly before 4pm.

Telegraph Sport’s football writers have had their say, including Jason Burt who believes Ivan Toney should start up front with Harry Kane. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments section below.

For the first time at the European Championship, England arguably go into a game as underdogs when they face Switzerland in the quarter-finals today.

The Swiss have been one of the teams of the tournament so far and are more than capable of dumping out Gareth Southgate’s side, who must surely improve dramatically if they are to avoid what would have been regarded as a major upset before the Euros began.

A key man behind Switzerland’s transformation is captain Granit Xhaka. Read more on him, manager Murat Yakin and the team in our Switzerland scouting report.

Plenty at stake this afternoon, most obviously a place in the semi-finals. Can England bring about an increase in tempo on the pitch or are fans staring at another snooze-fest of a performance? Make your score predictions using our tool below.

New tactics are rumoured, but will that be enough to change England’s fortunes against Switzerland? Back your predictions for the game with these Euros betting offers.

Good morning, we’re six hours away from England facing Switzerland today in their Euro 2024 quarter-final, with the winner taking on either the Netherlands or Turkey in the last four.

We’ll bring you all the latest build-up and team news from Germany as the fans start to gather ahead of the match at the Düsseldorf Arena.

England, without the suspended Marc Guehi, could line up with a back three after previously setting up with a four-man defence so far in Germany.

Although not unchartered territory for Gareth Southgate to play with a back three, changing formation mid tournament is slightly more unusual for him.

The match will mark the 53-year-old’s 100th game in charge of the senior national team and his 24th match as England manager at a major tournament - nine more than anyone else in history. 

The landmark, however, comes amid plenty of fierce criticism for England’s performances in Germany, but defender Kieran Trippier believes Southgate has not been fully appreciated. 

“I think what Gareth’s done since he took charge has been nothing but remarkable, really.” said Trippier about Southgate, who has won more knockout matches than every other manager from 1966 combined  

“When I first arrived, we had many meetings about what it means to represent England and he really installed that real togetherness in the squad from when he first took charge to now.

“You’ve seen how much he’s developed. And I think what he’s done for England is nothing but remarkable, really.

“Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, but I think Gareth certainly knows, from myself, the players, what we think of him. He is an unbelievable, unbelievable person and somebody that we all, every single person in this camp, respects.”

Today’s match will be the fourth meeting between England and Switzerland at a major tournament, and third at the European Championship. Switzerland have never won a quarter-final in a major tournament, having suffered defeat in their past four attempts.