Sport | Football
Gareth Southgate has switched to a back three for England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland.
England have started with a back four throughout this summer’s tournament so far, but changed to a three during the second-half of last weekend’s dramatic last-16 victory over Slovakia.
With a five-day break between the game and this weekend’s in Dusseldorf, Southgate has been experimenting in training this week by trialling a wing-back system and makes the move to match up against the Swiss, who have played a 3-4-2-1 formation for most of their campaign.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ENGLAND VS SWITZERLAND LIVE!
Southgate used a back-three throughout his first tournament in charge, the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and on several occasions at Euro 2020, including in the last-16 win over Germany and the final defeat to Italy.
At this European Championship, England have struggled for width on the left flank in each of their four matches, with the right-footed Kieran Trippier deputising at left-back for the injured Luke Shaw and Phil Foden not a natural wide player at left-wing.
Shaw is back in training and in contention to feature against the Swiss, but it Southgate does not risk the Manchester United defender from the start after almost five months on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is instead the left-footed selection on that flank.
The 22-year-old made his Gunners breakthrough as a wing-back as a teenager and while he suggested last week that shifting him from what is now his established post on the right of attack was “not the solution” to England’s problems, Southgate opted to do so as his side chased the game at 1-0 down against Slovakia.
Southgate has opted for Trippier over Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right, with Kyle Walker dropping into the back-three as he has done capably in the past.
One change the Three Lions boss definitely had to make to his side is at centre-back, where Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi is suspended and Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa comes in.
England vs Switzerland: Euro 2024 – LIVE!
Turkey XI vs Netherlands: Confirmed team news and predicted lineup
Netherlands XI vs Turkey: Confirmed team news and predicted lineup
Make the most of the summer of sport in London
Jude Bellingham is available to play despite receiving a suspended ban from UEFA for his celebration against Slovakia.
England XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Konsa; Trippier, Rice, Mainoo, Saka; Foden, Bellingham, Kane
Subs: Ramsdale, Henderson, Shaw, Alexander-Arnold, Dunk, Gallagher, Toney, Gordon, Watkins, Bowen, Eze, Gomez, Palmer, Wharton
Suspended: Guehi
Time and date: 5pm BST today on Saturday, July 6, 2024
Venue: Dusseldorf Arena
Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)
TV channel and live stream: BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website
Create a FREE account to continue reading
Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.
Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.
Your email address
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account
* Required fields
Already have an account? SIGN IN
By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Thank you for registering
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in
MORE ABOUT
Have your say…
1
Football
England vs Switzerland LIVE! Euro 2024 match stream, latest score and goal updates today
2
UK
Jay Slater: London man who was with missing teenager at Tenerife Airbnb says: ‘He left the house alive’
3
Football
England XI vs Switzerland: Starting Euro 2024 lineup, confirmed team news, injury latest for today
4
UK
Jay Slater’s best friend Lucy Law shares picture of missing Brit three weeks after Tenerife disappearance
5
UK
Dying woman with terminal breast cancer given fast-track prosecution for not paying for TV licence
15
add a comment