England vs Switzerland Preview
Switzerland look to knock out another big team as England try to shake off early struggles.
Heading into this game England are currently +110 to win while Switzerland are +255 and a draw is +205. This means England are the favorites but not by much. In fact many pundits have said that Switzerland should win the game. Gary Neville had the following to say about the upcoming quarterfinal…
"If we don't raise the performances, we're going out"
It is not hard to see why he thinks that. England have struggled all tournament with an unconvincing win against Serbia, and draws to both Austria and Slovenia in the group. They were then mere minutes from going out in the round of 16 only for Jude Bellingham to spare their blushes against Slovakia. Switzerland meanwhile beat Hungary convincingly, drew Scotland and hosts Germany. They also beat holders Italy comfortably 2-0 in the round of 16. So what do England need to do to win the game? What do Switzerland need to do to win?
England Tactical Preview
Kobe Mainoo
Kobe Mainoo started against Slovakia for the first time all tournament after Trent started the first two group games and Gallagher the third. It was clear right away that he brought something different and had great balance with Rice. Mainoo is a more aggressive attacking player than Rice and is more willing to take players on. He is also more comfortable receiving the ball from the back and doesn’t pass back as much as Rice. This seemed to help some of England’s unwillingness to go forward.
Harry Kane/Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham has played VERY high up the pitch. Here is an example of him and Kane when England don’t have the ball.
Since the two are so close together and Foden has played centrally it is difficult for Kane to utilize some of the hold up play he is famous for. As Foden is close to both Bellingham and Kane he has struggled to play passes with them. Despite scoring twice Kane has not been too effective at the Euros thus far. One reason could be it is too crowded in the middle and he can’t link up with others as he does at the club level.
Kieran Trippier
Having 3 right footed defenders is fine. It is with four that the problems start. Kieran Trippier who went off early in the knockouts as he has been nursing an injury has shown the problems of have a right footed left back. As demonstrated by his pass map he is turning to pass backwards rather than played it up the line as a left footed player would in the position. The few times he did try to play long balls forward he did not complete the passes. Trippier’s lack of forward passes is one reason why England have been playing a more conservative style of football.
Another concern with Trippier is how he comes up the pitch. He in large part has to do this because Foden has played centrally on his uncomfortable left side. This can add an element to the attack as clear on this Foden disallowed goal.
However bringing Trippier up in attack creates problems in defense.
New Formation
Southgate has reportedly used a back three in training. The new formation could feature Saka at left wingback. This makes tracking back an even bigger issue as Saka is a more attacking player. Obviously he would have more cover than Trippier did as they would play with a back three. However if both he and Trippier fail to track bak England could be left exposed. It is also important to note how far right Walker plays if a bag three is used. The idea of wingbacks playing both ways will be a key idea regardless of what formation Southgate choses to use.
This proposed formation would also allow Phil Foden to play more centrally where he is more comfortable. It would mean it is less crowded around Harry Kane and he could have more link up and hold up play which he is known to be very good at. Phil Foden seemed to struggle to connect with Bellingham and Foden against Slovakia. Allowing Kane to get on the ball more could allow Foden to link up more with the other attacking players and wing backs.
Here you can see a possible new formation England will use against Switzerland versus the formation they used against Italy at the Euro 2021 Final against Italy. Wingbacks played a key role in this game with Luke Shaw netting 2 minutes in.
Switzerland Tactical Preview
In Euro 2024, Switzerland are one of the best teams to press high effectively and to shoot down spaces in a 5-4-1 low/mid-block. Murat Yakin’s boys embodied the statement by their way of suffocating Italy in the buildup phase.
Switzerland set up pressing traps in wide areas against Italy's 4-3-3 shape in the build-up. Every Swiss player marked every Italian man except Donnarumma, who was free to initiate the construction phase. On the other hand, Murat Yakin instructed his boys to make spaces tighter against their opposite players in the central corridor to drive Italy’s goalkeeper to play the ball to Di Lorenzo's side. Intentionally, Michel Aebischer was distant from the Azzuri right-back to jump over him once he received the ball whereas the other players shifted across to close down the passing lanes.
Murat Yakin targeted to prevent Italy from finding access to El Shaarawy on the other side and get Scamacca outnumbered in the middle of the park, as Switzerland coach confirmed after the Italy clash: “I knew that if the Italians came with a back four, we would destroy them, then we would let them run. Dan (Ndoye) closed down the midfield. El Shaarawy hardly saw a ball.”
Michel Aebischer Dilemma:
Murat Yakin uses Michel Aebischer to fulfill a complex tactical role, causing bewilderment within the opposition. Aebischer is used to play with Bologna the way he plays with his national team. He blends between tucking inside to join the midfield and holding the width of the pitch to stretch the opposition and create spaces between their players.
Italy pressed high up the pitch with a 4-1-4-1 (man-oriented) shape. Aebischer, operating in the half-space, dragged with him Fagioli.
In the meantime, Embolo, moving across to collect Rodriguez's long pass and pulling Mancini out of his position, made Vargas receive the ball and run in the vacated space.
Switzerland's opener against Hungary came from a similar advanced position. Marco Rossi’s boys defend with a 5-4-1 mid-block. Manuel Akanji picks out Michel Aebischer who positions himself between Hungary’s four players in the midfield. The Bologna player feeds Kwadwo Duah running behind the Hungarian backline.
Switzerland's first big chance was created through Aebischer hugging the touchlines. Here, Mancini follows Reider, Bastoni sticks with Embolo and Chiesa runs toward Ricardo Rodriguez who feeds his teammate in the wide channel.
Italy’s backline fails to set the offside trap correctly which enabled Embolo to make a run in behind and get in a 1v1 situation against the goalkeeper.
Michel Aebischer reinstates confusion among the opposition players when he narrows inside between their lines as Granit Xhaka has been able to find him, with his progressive passes or through the third-man combination or when he holds the width and combines with his teammates.
Goal-scoring opportunities creation:
Switzerland relies on executing numerous patterns to arrive in the opposition box: central combination, third-man run, wide rotations… It becomes easy when you have a ball progressor of the caliber of Granit Xhaka. The latter brought his Bayer Leverkusen form to the national team as the main cog who is responsible on the ball progression.
Murat Yakin's flexible system suits more Granit Xhaka because he approximately operates in the same zones and plays a similar role he’s playing under Xabi Alonso.
Switzerland tried to exploit zone 14 (goal against Hungary) and between the opponents’ lines. They also drove the play wide and took advantage of players rotating and running down the inside channels to work a cross into the box.
After a long period of ball circulation (a 31-pass sequence) accompanied by position interchanges on both sides, Switzerland found the back of the net. Manuel Akanji picks out Breel Embolo who is dropping between Italy’s defence and midfield.
Dan Ndoye narrows inside, receives Embolo’s pass, and finds Vargas down the channel.
Alessandro Bastoni follows Breel Embolo which vacates the space behind for the latter to run in.
Dan Ndoye, overlapping FC Augsburg winger Vargas, draws Di Lorenzo’s attention and sticks to his position in case the ball goes to him. Vargas opts for another choice, notices Freuler's in-depth run toward the box, and feeds him with an assist.
Switzerland number eight controls the ball and puts it at the near post.
Switzerland used positional rotations and interchangers to create chances. After Italy's shambolic kick-off play, Granit Xhaka carried the ball toward the left side and ran down the inside channel. Aebischer, Vargas, and Xhaka combined through pass exchanges which made Di Lorenzo, Barella, and Fagioli unable to keep up with Switzerland's trio. That put Ruben Vargas in a situation where he picked out and bent the ball to the top corner.
5-4-1 mid/low block:
Murat Yakin’s boys drop into 5-4-1 when needed, “We did not only defend as a unit and sit back, we showed we could attack and dominate proceedings.”—Murat Yakin.
They are one of the few national teams in the competition to press effectively in a hybrid way. A playing trend that proved its efficiency all over the 2023/24 season, especially in the Premier League.
Murat Yakin boys showed their quality in setting in 5-4-1 mid-block, pressing hybridly, regaining the ball, and transitioning.
Before the opener, Switzerland defended with a 5-4-1 shape. Granit Xhaka pressed and made the space tighter vs Jamal Musiala to prevent Toni Kroos from playing the ball to him between the lines regarding his ability in receiving in tight areas, turning, and dribbling.
That forced Germany's number ten to return to his team’s half, however, he gets caught by Granit Xhaka and Fabian Reider in both senses closing down all the passing lanes. Reider carried the ball forward and exchanged it with Dan Ndoye.
Remo Freuler took place behind Germany’s backline then Reider fed him. In the meantime, Dan Ndoye was entering the box behind Antonio Rudiger’s back and in front of Jonathan Tah.
Reider played the ball across goal then Dan Ndoye accomplished the mission successfully.
Switzerland are no slouch of a team in terms of direct attacks. They are the fourth-best national team registering 25 direct attacks behind Danemark, Germany, and Italy across Euro 2020 and 2024.