ENGLAND’s quest for Euro 2024 glory resumes on Saturday evening against Switzerland.
The two sides will meet in Dusseldorf for a place in the semi-finals.
Gareth Southgate’s side set up the clash by squeezing past Slovakia in the last 16 on Sunday.
Jude Bellingham’s stoppage time equaliser sent the match to extra-time, where Harry Kane headed in the winner.
Switzerland’s campaign has been a stark contrast to that of the Three Lions.
The Swiss have emerged as the tournament’s dark horses after dumping out defending champions Italy last time out.
However, England have not lost to Switzerland since 1981 and have won each of their last five meetings.
The two sides last faced off in March 2022, with England coming from behind to win their Wembley friendly 2-1.
Switzerland are bidding to reach a major tournament semi-final for the first time, having lost their previous four quarter-finals.
As for England, they have made the last eight at each of Southgate’s four tournaments in charge, winning two out of three so far.
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Despite being far from their best, England are unbeaten at Euro 2024.
Although, they have won just one of their four matches in normal time.
Southgate’s side have also suffered two defeats from eight matches this year after friendly losses to Brazil and Iceland.
Switzerland, meanwhile, are unbeaten in 2024 and have not tasted defeat since losing their final qualifier to Romania in November.
Murat Yakin’s side have won two and drawn two of their four matches at Euro 2024.
England will be without Marc Guehi through suspension after the defender picked up his second yellow card against Slovakia.
Ezri Konsa is likely to come into the side to replace the Crystal Palace man.
Doubts remain over Luke Shaw’s fitness and match sharpness as he continues to train ahead of the quarter-final.
Shaw has not played since February, with Kieran Trippier filling in at left-back in Germany.
Switzerland will welcome back Silvan Widmer from suspension after missing the win over Italy.
Granit Xhaka is a fitness concern as he undergoes scans on a thigh injury, although he is expected to be okay.
Bellingham showed his star power to rescue England at the death against Slovakia.
The 21-year-old now has two goals and two man of the match awards from his four appearances at the tournament.
Fresh off the back of a stellar debut campaign with Real Madrid, the midfielder’s arrogance has been a breath of fresh air for the Three Lions.
Switzerland have so far spread the goals across the team, with no player grabbing the spotlight as the standout star.
Dan Ndoye could provide a pivotal threat to England, though, after scoring his first international goal against Germany in the group stage.
The Bologna winger has started all four of Switzerland’s matches, showing his versatility by featuring in multiple positions across the attack.
Ndoye’s dribbling and ability to draw fouls will provide a threat to the England defence.
Southgate acknowledged England’s need to improve after the Slovakia win, explaining: “There’s no question it will give the whole group belief.
“We know we should be better than we’ve been but we’ve ended up with a lot of young players in important positions and trying to solve problems right the way through the four weeks of the camp.
“But the standout is the way the players are dealing with it. Their togetherness, their spirit.”
Meanwhile, Yakin remained calm as he spoke following his side’s win over Italy.
He said: “We are focused on ourselves, we don’t want to be distracted by our opponents.”
Despite their differing form and the attitude surrounding their performances, history points to an England win on Saturday.
The Three Lions have more experience at this level, a far superior recent major tournament record and the head-to-head edge with Switzerland.
A significant improvement will be needed to reach a third semi-final in four tournaments, though.
SunSport prediction – 2-0
Match result
To qualify
*Odds courtesy of William Hill and are correct at the time of publication.
