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Only eight nations remain at Euro 2024 and, somehow, England are still one of them.
A date with Switzerland awaits Gareth Southgate’s side now after struggling through the group stage and mounting the very latest of late escapes in the last-16 against Slovakia, with an injury-time equaliser sending the tie to extra-time, where a goal from Harry Kane sealed their progress.
Jude Bellingham scored the spectacular 96th-minute strike to keep England in the game – and the tourmament – but ensuing celebrations left some offended. “An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight,” he suggested – but that didn’t stop Uefa opening an investigation over potential indecent conduct, which could yet see him face a ban.
There remains much for Southgate to solve though, including a defensive riddle with Kieran Trippier a doubt and Marc Guehi suspended – and the rest of the team not playing well either.
Follow all the latest news updates and reaction ahead of England’s last-eight fixture below.
John Stones names two skills England have ‘unlocked’ on eve of Euro 2024 quarter-final with Switzerland
John Stones believes England have already seen a “shift” and “unlocked” two key qualities for the latter stages of Euro 2024, in their ability to score crucial late goals and “seamlessly” switch between formations.
Gareth Southgate and his players feel that Jude Bellingham’s 95th-minute equaliser against Slovakia has had a transformative mood on the camp, and there is a sense that can create a fear factor among opposition sides.
It hasn’t been clear in the week since, however; ongoing concerns about performance as well as Marc Guehi’s suspension have led England to work on a three-man backline.
Stones says that can fit with the resolve which the team have started to develop after beating Slovakia, however.
A dinner and ‘super’ wine helped Switzerland become a contender at Euro 2024
Switzerland is on the verge of making history at Euro 2024, but a few months ago it was a team under severe pressure.
A dinner and some “super” red wine in Duesseldorf — where Switzerland plays England on Saturday — helped captain Granit Xhaka and coach Murat Yakin turn things around.
The Swiss team eliminated defending champion Italy last week and is a step away from the semifinals, which would be its best-ever result at any tournament.
Just over four months ago, however, things were very different. Switzerland had won just one of its previous seven games, and that was against tiny Andorra. During that time, Xhaka had publicly criticized the team’s training sessions — and by implication Yakin — and likened the team’s performance to a kick-about “in the park.”
In February, Yakin came to visit Xhaka for dinner in Duesseldorf, just up the road from where Xhaka was playing for the then-undefeated Bayer Leverkusen.
What exactly they talked about remains a secret — and so does the menu — but both men have said the dinner was an important moment in the bond between coach and captain. It may have helped that Xhaka scored his first goal for Leverkusen the next day.
“We players are happy that we have a coach who is open to hearing the players’ opinions and there have never been problems. We are men enough to talk about it,” Xhaka said last month.
“Good food, super wine and I scored the next day … I think we are both very ambitious. We both just want success for ourselves, for the team. And that is what counts. Everything else is history.”
England’s route to the final: Possible opponents in the Euro 2024 knockout stages
Jude Bellingham saved England from an embarrassing defeat with a stunning last-minute overhead kick, before Harry Kane scored at the start of extra time to send the Three Lions through.
It was shaping up to be another nightmare evening in Gelsenkirchen but Southgate was vindicated for his lack of changes as his biggest stars finally arrived to turn defeat into victory.
And ahead of Saturday’s game against Switzerland, below you can find England’s potential route to the final of Euro 2024.
Switzerland prepare to face England
Switzerland’s precision and a press give England a tactical dilemma
England’s happiness at being on what is perceived to be the easier side of the knockout draw at Euro 2024 has been tested by Slovakia but what awaits them in the quarter-final on Saturday will be an even sterner examination.
Opponents Switzerland have been beaten only once in their 18 matches since the World Cup, a dead rubber European Championship qualifier in Romania, and have lost outright in one of their last 14 games at the Euros dating back to 2008. Germany midfielder Toni Kroos was full of praise for the Swiss after the hosts needed a 92nd-minute equaliser in their final pool match to draw 1-1 while Italy’s Bryan Cristante was candid after their 2-0 last-16 defeat.
“They beat us physically and in terms of organisation,” he said.
For an England side that has found opening up opponents difficult in Germany, that presents another tactical challenge for manager Gareth Southgate. The Swiss have a settled back-four but coach Murat Yakin is not afraid to make changes in the forward positions, and with several options across the front three, it makes it hard to plan for them. Switzerland’s seven goals at Euro 2024 have come from different players, they are not reliant on an individual who can be contained, but spread the workload across the team, whether in attack or defence.
They also work incredibly hard. Midfielder Rubin Vargas praised his side for how they suffocated Italy when out of possession. “We didn’t give them time to breathe,” he said.
The Swiss are second bottom for number of tackles made (36) at the finals, but have conceded only three goals, which shows how they use their organisation and press to subdue opponents. In fact, goalkeeper Yann Sommer has been forced to make only six saves in more than six hours of football, so well has he been protected by his defence. No gloveman has been less busy at Euro 2024.
The Swiss are one of four teams at the tournament to have scored two goals from outside the box, along with Germany, Turkey and Romania. They have had more shots on target (18) than off target (15) at these finals, a claim only a handful of sides can make, and don’t mind not having the ball with 48% possession spread across their games. They do not use width much and are last of the 24 teams for crosses completed with five in four games, keeping their play compact in central positions.
“When we put on our pressing, we won’t let them (England) play. That’s our job,” Yakin told reporters. “We played well against Germany, we played well against Italy, so why shouldn’t we beat England?”
England train for Euro 2024 quarter-final v Switzerland
John Stones says England‘s Euro 2024 camp has been a ‘politics-free zone’
John Stones says England‘s Euro 2024 camp has been a “politics-free zone” as the country decides on the next Prime Minister.
Gareth Southgate’s side are in central Germany preparing for Saturday’s quarter-final against Switzerland as millions of people head to polling stations across the UK.
But while the General Election may be dominating the agenda back home, England‘s Blankenhain base has been a neutral space for players and staff.
Asked if there has been any “political banter” or whether it is a sort of politics-free zone, defender Stones said with a laugh: “Politics-free zone.
“I couldn’t tell you about the other lads (and if they have voted). I’m sure it’ll be something that we get brought tonight later on.
“But, yeah, I couldn’t tell you who they vote for and keep it close to the chest. Let’s see what happens.”
John Stones: Jude Bellingham goal could be catalyst for England at Euro 2024
John Stones believes Jude Bellingham’s great escape act can be the “turning point” in England’s attempt to “create history” by winning Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate’s men arrived at this summer’s tournament among the favourites to lift the trophy, but last weekend they were seconds away from bowing out in the first knockout round.
Slovakia led against lacklustre England deep into stoppage time, only for Bellingham’s jaw-dropping overhead kick to save their blushes in the fifth added minute.
Harry Kane went on to secure England a 2-1 extra-time triumph – a last-gasp win that breathes new life into a side that now take on Switzerland in Saturday’s quarter-final in Dusseldorf.
Turkey match-winner Merih Demiral investigated by Uefa for alleged extremist salute
European football’s governing body Uefa opened an investigation on Wednesday into a “wolf salute” goal celebration by Turkey centre-back Merih Demiral that Germany condemned as racist due to its far-right associations.
The gesture – mimicking the shape of a wolf’s head – is linked to the right-wing “Grey Wolves”, an ultra-nationalist youth branch of Turkey‘s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which is in alliance with President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party.
Germany left with one regret before ‘the real Euro 2024 final’ against reinvented Spain
It is something that Julian Nagelsmann doesn’t even want to be mentioned around the German camp, but it’s now impossible not to consider. Would the hosts have been better off had Niclas Fullkrug not scored that 92nd-minute equaliser against Switzerland in the final group game? Might that have been the moment on which the entire tournament turned?
A 1-0 defeat would have put Germany second in their group and on the more forgiving side of the draw, probably making them the biggest force there. It could have been a clear route to the semi-final.
Nagelsmann would argue that, if that happened, the hosts wouldn’t still have their unbeaten record. They wouldn’t have the emotional momentum that comes with a last-minute equaliser to preserve that record, either. They wouldn’t have the same aura.
Source: independent.co.uk
