England are through to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 and will play Switzerland in the next round.
Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time stunner saved Gareth Southgate’s side from an embarrassing last-16 exit as they fought back to beat Slovakia 2-1 after extra-time.
Switzerland, who are ranked 19th in the world, 14 places below England, earned their place in the quarter-finals with a commanding 2-0 win against current holders Italy.
When is England’s next game?
England will play Switzerland on Saturday, July 6, at 5pm.
Where is England vs Switzerland being played?
Dusseldorf.
What TV channel is it on?
England vs Switzerland will be live in the BBC.
If Gareth Southgate’s men win their semi-final will be on ITV, with both channels – as always – sharing the final.
What sort of team are Switzerland?
The Swiss are now many people’s dark horses after their impressive last-16 victory over Italy.
Murat Yakin’s side finished second in Group A during the pool stages, behind hosts Germany, to earn their place in the round of 16 and then proceeded to play Italy off the park to claim a place in the quarters.
Their star player is former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xkaha who became the beating heart of Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title-winning season, and it is the same for his country. He leads by example and has even dialled down his temper a touch. Anything Switzerland do will go through him first.
Manager Yakin has implemented 3-4-3 formation to help lean on his sides’ strongest area of the field, which is centre-backs. The impressive trio of Manuel Akanji, Nico Elvedi and Fabian Schar make up the back three.
Who could England play in the semi-finals?
England would play one of Romania, the Netherlands, Austria or Turkey if they beat Switzerland.
What is the latest news?
By Ben Rumsby
Manuel Akanji is desperate to beat England after accusing “friends” in the UK of belittling his country.
Manchester City defender Akanji has lit the fuse ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final tie against the nation he has made his home.
“I have a lot of friends there and they talk [about] us [as] a little bit small sometimes,” he said. “Not all of them, but some of them. So I hope we’re going to win.”
Asked if he had spoken to any of them, the 28-year-old replied: “Not yet, no. I mean, we’ve spoken in group chat but not face to face.”
He also played down talk England and Switzerland have found themselves in the “easier” half of the draw for the knockout stage, with the Netherlands the only other major footballing nation standing between them and a place in the final.
“It might look easier on this side,” he said, “But the teams we play are still Italy, England and maybe Netherlands. So, it’s not as easy as it looks. But we’ll see what happens.”
What are the odds?
TBC
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