Scott Sutter has two caps for Switzerland. But the London-born former professional footballer also has a lot in common with England. The European Championship quarter-final is a special duel for him.
Scott Sutter grew up in London. At the age of 16, he moved to Switzerland, his father's home country, and pursued his dream of becoming a professional footballer, which came true two years later when he made his debut for Grasshoppers. The right-back played in Bern for the longest time. After eight years with Young Boys, he fulfilled his dream of an adventure abroad in 2017 and moved to Orlando City in the North American professional league MLS. Since his retirement in 2020, the 38-year-old has been working as a coach in the youth sector. He founded the "Scott Sutter Soccer School" in Florida. He also acts as co-commentator and analyst for Orlando City's match broadcasts.
In an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency, Sutter talks about the special clash in the European Championship quarter-final between Switzerland and England. He says what sets Switzerland apart from the "Three Lions" in his eyes. He explains why the English sometimes seem arrogant to him, and the two-time Swiss international predicts what he thinks the winner of this quarter-final will do.
Scott Sutter, you live in Florida. Have you been following the European Championship at all?
I've only seen about two and a half games live so far. Switzerland's round of 16 match against Italy, England's match against Slovakia and part of Belgium's match against France. I would have liked to watch more, but I just didn't have the time. Here in Orlando it's lunchtime and afternoon when the games are on. And that's when I'm usually on the training pitch.
How well is the tournament perceived in the USA?
It's not like in Europe, where you can't walk ten meters during the European Championships without seeing a flag advertising the tournament. The USA is such a big country and the distances are so great. There are millions of people here who aren't interested in soccer at all. Even the 15-year-olds who come to my training sessions: When I ask them if they saw England's game against Slovakia and Jude Bellingham's overhead kick, they say, "No, what happened?" It's not all that present here.
But you saw the overhead kick. How did you experience that moment?
When he scored the goal, I cheered along with him. Simply because I really wanted England to play Switzerland. But in a game between Switzerland and England, I'm definitely for Switzerland. I'm really looking forward to Saturday.
You are a dual citizen and spent your youth in England. How special is a game like this for you?
Very special. Now I feel more Swiss than English, but in my youth I was a huge England fan. My wife is a big fan of Switzerland, we lived there for a long time, and I also played two international matches for Switzerland. And I like underdog stories. Small Switzerland against big England, I always have sympathy for the underdog anyway.
Is Switzerland really the underdog? After the match against Italy, some of the media are favoring them.
If you look at the form curve of this tournament, Switzerland is definitely the favorite. That's quite special. And I'm curious to see how Switzerland will deal with it. With the pressure that comes with such a starting position. Whether the players will suddenly start to worry, or whether they will be able to play as freely against England as they did against Italy. They played so well in Berlin, it was great to watch.
The English have played less well so far. How did you experience the team?
I haven't seen all the games live, but I've read a lot and talked to my father, who has seen all of England's games. You read a lot of criticism on social media. It's like it always has been in recent years when England play at major tournaments.
Where do you see the problems?
In my opinion, coach Gareth Southgate is not doing a good job and has never done a good job. Not at the last World Cup, and not at the last European Championship either.
Despite reaching the final in 2021?
If you can play the last two games at home at Wembley, you simply have to win the tournament. There are no excuses. In terms of the individual quality of the players, there are almost no teams as good as the English.
Why is it that you can't see that on the pitch?
Experts have often said it: coaching the men's national team is one of the most difficult jobs in England. You have so much pressure, the expectations are so high. At every tournament it's "It's coming home" and the team doesn't bring the trophy home after all.
Do the fans expect too much from this team?
Yes. What bothers me about the England fans is that they have a certain arrogance. They say they have the best league in the world, the best players. But then when English teams play in the Champions League or the national team at a tournament, you see that there are other teams that are simply much better. The English overestimate themselves and that leads to them being disappointed time and time again.
Which league do you rate better than the English one?
I love watching Premier League games because I think it's the most interesting league. But I don't think it's the best league in terms of quality. If you take away Manchester City and Arsenal, the level of play in the Spanish league is much higher.
Apart from the coaching position, where else do you see problems in the national team?
The coordination between Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, for example, is not there at all. I saw a statistic. In the game against Slovakia, England played around 670 passes. But only one was between these two. That's insane. And it shows that England are not yet at a good level in terms of communication. But as long as the results are right, that only plays a minor role.
This approach seems risky.
Yes, the English prefer to play badly and then somehow win 1-0 or on penalties. But they've never played as badly as this year at a tournament in my memory.
A great opportunity for Switzerland.
Unlike England, Switzerland act as a team. They've always been relatively successful at the big tournaments in recent years, getting through the group stage and then usually being eliminated in the first knockout round. However, it has been a long time since this team structure has been as pronounced as it is this year. The conviction of the players on the pitch is impressive.
So you're betting on a Swiss victory?
I hope so. But England have so much potential. They can suddenly play a good game at any moment. I hope for Switzerland's sake that the English play the way they have so far.
Can Switzerland go any further than the semi-finals?
If you look at the half of the table, I think the winner of this quarter-final will go through to the final. If the Swiss beat the English, they could face the Netherlands or Turkey, which is no more difficult a task than England. So it could go further.
SDA
