Team News: England lineup confirmed as Gareth Southgate makes one change – Sports Mole
England manager Gareth Southgate has made just the one change to his starting XI for their Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland.
The Three Lions will compete in their fifth successive major tournament quarter-final at the Merkur-Spiel Arena in Dusseldorf, where Southgate – taking charge of his 100th game for his country – must cope without the suspended Marc Guehi due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
As expected, Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa has been selected to step in for his banned Crystal Palace counterpart, beating Lewis Dunk and Joe Gomez to start in what is expected to be a three-man backline.
Kyle Walker and John Stones – who has overcome a slight scare – will link arms with Konsa in front of Jordan Pickford, while Bukayo Saka and Kieran Trippier should act as Southgate’s wing-backs.
Despite affirming that Luke Shaw was available to start, Southgate has unsurprisingly avoided risking the Manchester United man from the first whistle, as he is yet to play a single minute at the tournament so far.
Trippier has started all four of England’s Euro 2024 matches on the left, but he could very well be switched over to his favoured right flank in Dusseldorf, thereby pushing Saka to the left wing-back position.
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Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo should act as the deepest-lying midfielders, while Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden operate slightly ahead of the duo, potentially in more inverted positions.
Once again, Southgate sticks with the one-man strikeforce of Harry Kane, even though Ivan Toney came off the bench to brilliant effect against Slovakia, setting up the captain’s extra-time winner.
As for Switzerland, head coach Murat Yakin has gone with the same starting XI from their beating of holders Italy in the last 16, meaning that Granit Xhaka has been passed fit to start.
The ex-Arsenal man emerged as a slight doubt when he was sent for a scan on an injury, but he was quickly given the all-clear and captains the Rossocrociati, also lining up with a 3-4-2-1.
Right wing-back Silvan Widmer is back from suspension, but Yakin has kept faith with both Dan Ndoye and Fabian Rieder, while Breel Embolo leads the line for a team bidding to reach their first-ever major tournament semi-finals.
The winner of Saturday’s first quarter-final will battle either Turkey or the Netherlands in the last four, with that contest taking place three hours after England and Switzerland kick off.
England: Pickford; Walker, Konsa, Stones; Trippier, Rice, Mainoo, Saka; Bellingham, Foden; Kane
Subs: Ramsdale, Henderson, Shaw, Toney, Gordon, Eze, Watkins, Palmer, Dunk, Gomez, Alexander-Arnold, Gallagher, Wharton, Bowen
Switzerland: Sommer; Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez; Rieder, Freuler, Xhaka, Aebischer; Ndoye, Vargas; Embolo
Subs: Mvogo, Kobel, Stergiou, Widmer, Elvedi, Zakaria, Okafor, Steffen, Zuber, Zesiger, Sierro, Duah, Shaqiri, Jashari, Amdouni
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