England resume their quest for Euro 2024 glory on Saturday evening, facing Switzerland during the quarter-final in Dusseldorf.
With a place in the semi-finals at stake, Gareth Southgate has made tactical changes to go with a back three – and personnel changes too, with one alteration to his starting line-up enforced due to Marc Guehi’s suspension.
The centre-back was booked against Slovenia in the group stage and then once more last time out against Slovakia, with two yellows equalling a one-game ban at the European Championship – until they are wiped after the quarter-final.
That means the match against the Swiss is the last time players can pick up a one-game ban for bookings alone – and there are five players treading the tightrope, knowing that if they are carded by referee Daniele Orsato and the Three Lions win the match, they’ll miss out on a semi-final meeting against Netherlands or Turkey.
Of course, any player sent off will also face a ban of at least one match, so a semi-final red card will still see them miss the final – but they won’t miss it due to yellow card accumulation alone.
The five England players at risk of an immediate ban with one more yellow card include full-back Kieran Trippier and central midfielders Kobbie Mainoo and Conor Gallagher. Given that trio are frequently in more combative positions or match situations, they would seem most likely to need to be careful – but two attackers are similarly one yellow away, with Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham both already having been booked at the tournament.
For their part, Switzerland are in the same boat as England with five on a booking: Dan Ndoye, Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler, Ricardo Rodriguez and Vincent Sierro.
They have already had Silvan Widmer suspended but the wing-back is available again for this clash in Dusseldorf.
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