The England national team is failing to impress at this European Championship. The Three Lions will be forced to make changes against Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
What do Gary Neville, Harry Redknapp, Jürgen Klinsmann and Alan Shearer have in common? They are all working as columnists for the British tabloid "The Sun" during the European Championship in Germany.
And in this role, the three Englishmen and the German are doing what everyone who has followed the England national team's progress at the European Championships is doing these days. They are conjecturing and guessing, arguing and discussing. They are all trying to get into the head of national team coach Gareth Southgate and predict which eleven players the "Three Lions" will probably start the quarter-final against Switzerland on Saturday in Düsseldorf (6pm). And above all: in which system?
Guéhi's absence changes everything
These are questions that ordinary football fans ask themselves before any match, and such discussions are also part of the fascination with this global sport. In the England environment, however, there is a certain urgency to these discussions. Southgate will be forced to make changes in his 100th international match as national team coach.
Marc Guéhi, a central defender, is suspended after receiving a second yellow card in the round of 16 match against Slovakia (2:1 n.V.). The 23-year-old Crystal Palace player is playing in his first major tournament in Germany and has obviously already become an indispensable piece of the puzzle in Southgate's traditional back four.
Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa would be a replacement who could take the place next to defensive boss John Stones. And the majority of the aforementioned columnists are also in favor of England not deviating from their system of play. But there are also those who would like to see England play with a three-man defense. Not only because of Murat Yakin's statement after the victory against Italy (2:0) that he knew Switzerland would "destroy" their opponents when he saw that the Italians were playing with a four-man defense.
Stones' confidence
But Switzerland's performance certainly left an impression on the Englishman. "The Swiss are a good team," said Stones as he sat in front of the media at Blankenhain Castle on Thursday. The question of the system is omnipresent in the medieval building, and Stones tries to make the topic less explosive.
"We've been playing together for so long, we can play different systems and formations," says the 30-year-old. And the question of who will defend alongside him doesn't faze Manuel Akanji's club colleague either: "I trust all my team-mates. No matter who comes in, they deserve to play and hopefully it will be a smooth transition."
Of course Stones has to say that. However, one thing that can be sensed from all the talk about line-ups and changes is that Switzerland will not be facing a settled opponent on Saturday, who will be operating with the self-confidence of having three of the best players in the world in attack in Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane. The finalists of the last European Championship are convinced of their own qualities. And who go into a quarter-final against Switzerland with the self-conception that they will definitely emerge victorious.
Turning point or wishful thinking
In fact, Stones once said: "We are proud to have reached the quarter-finals at this tournament." And thus conveys the image of the modest underdog, rather than the proud co-favorite. The performances at the European Championships so far have raised doubts in the English camp. Gareth Southgate's team have failed to impress in any of their four games, and the coach, who has faced some harsh criticism at every tournament since taking up his post in September 2016, was pelted with beer cups by fans after the group game against Slovenia (0:0).
"We know that the nation is behind us and wants us to achieve something here that we've never achieved before," said Stones. "It's frustrating that we haven't been able to reach our level so far." But the defensive patron, who had a mixed season at Manchester City and only started 12 games, believes that the team can draw strength from the last-second elimination in the round of 16.
"An experience like that can be a turning point for us, bringing us even closer together as a team." Whether this is wishful thinking and the fragile structure of the England team collapses like a house of cards against Switzerland will be revealed on Saturday evening in Düsseldorf. Until then, all we can do is guess and assume.
SDA
