England vs Switzerland LIVE: Result, final score and reaction from international friendly
Follow all the action from Wembley as the Three Lions continue their preparations for the World Cup
If the purpose of these international friendlies in the no man’s land between qualifying and a major tournament is to experiment and learn lessons, then mission accomplished for England and Gareth Southgate. An old system including some new faces was tested and struggled against Switzerland, before changes were needed in order to come from behind and make a winning start to this World Cup year.
One thing these games are also useful for is a bit of stat-padding. Harry Kane is now level with Sir Bobby Charlton on 49 goals for his country, with only all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney left to catch. The England captain completed the turnaround with an emphatically converted 78th-minute penalty, awarded against Steven Zuber for handball after a lengthy VAR check.
Breel Embolo had initially put Switzerland in front, capitalising on a Benjamin White error, and deservedly so. England were rough around the edges and mostly second-best until Luke Shaw’s equaliser on the brink of half time, after which the pattern of the game shifted with all the substitutions that come in these friendlies. To be honest, there was not much of a rhythm to the game before that either. Follow reaction to England’s win over Switzerland below:
England 0-0 Switzerland, 10 min
Good play between Walker-Peters and Gallagher sees another opportunity for England in the box but Switzerland defenders are wise to the play and, again, put numbers around Gallagher which forces him to give up the ball.
Shaw fouls which gifts the visitors the ball on halfway but the hosts wrestle back the ball without a threat of danger.
Mount is challenged for the second time in the match, seems the visitors are targeting the Chelsea man. But it is them who launched the next promising attack, despite going back to their keeper first.
The play saw Steffen run onto a pass which had just a bit too much on it to collect but Switzerland are building well in the match.
Embolo then challenges Gallagher to give a free kick to England just inside their half and in the build-up play Mount is fouled again!
England 0-0 Switzerland, 5 min
England got off to a good start, retaining possession to settle any early nerves.
Mount won an early free kick after he was pushed to the floor, showing his danger in the early phases. England chose to go back to Pickford who took his time to bat the ball upfield.
Switzerland then came to life, putting together a promising attacking spell. But England’s defence swarmed them well to finally see Switzerland make a passing error.
Vargas got into the box in later spells though but Walker-Peters dispossessed him well.
England then returned the favour as Kane gets into the box but he is swarmed by Switzerland.
Any fan confused by the colours on the pitch, England are in blue with the Swiss in white. In case you find yourself cheering for the wrong team!
Kick-off: England 0-0 Switzerland
So here we go!
The atmosphere in Wembley is electric and it’s set up a great match.
The stadium also paid tribute to Ukraine and both captains have armbands in the Ukrainian flag colours.
England vs Switzerland: Edging towards kick-off
We are just ten minutes away from kick-off and the teams should be out on the pitch shortly.
The anthems will ring out at the home of England football.
Then all the talking will stop and the moment for action will be upon the players. Though it’s a friendly these players will give everything, particularly for the stars getting their debuts at Wembley.
Not long to go...
England vs Switzerland: Change to England’s line-up
John Stones is out of the match after being named in the starting 11.
It’s believed the Manchester City star was injured in the warm-up and so Ben White comes into the side.
So England now line-up as: Pickford; Walker-Peters, Guehi, Coady, White, Shaw; Gallagher, Henderson; Mount, Foden, Kane.
England vs Switzerland: Southgate speaks
England manager Gareth Southgate has spoken about the match and the players making their debut, he told Sky: “Every England game is important. There’s a great opportunity for the three making a debut.
“There’s got to be a realistic expectation of how far their development term and what they might provide over the longer term.
“It means when we change the team or lose players we have a strength in depth.
“We want to be aggressive with pressure... We’ll keep possession well.”
England vs Switzerland: Fans out in full
The fans are back in full at Wembley and what amazing weather for it!
It should be an amazing afternoon for them with their team in good form of late.
Switzerland should pose a threat to them though so they can’t under-estimate their opposition.
Regardless of the outcome, I’m jealous of the supporters in sunny London. It looks like the perfect day out.
England vs Switzerland: Half an hour to go
The friendly is almost underway!
Do you think England will walk away with this or will Switzerland give a good game at Wembley?
I’m hoping for a close encounter in the sun this afternoon.
We will get underway shortly...
Pickford backed by England
Jordan Pickford has had a few poor performances of late for club Everton and it has seen some fans call for Ben Ramsdale to be given the England no.1 shirt.
But Gareth Southgate has stuck with his man for this friendly and you can see why. Pickford consistently plays well for England, no matter his form for his club. The Jorginho penalty save at the Euros comes to mind but he does need to improve club form if he wants critics to stop questioning his position.
Ramsdale is currently injured and so couldn’t challenge Pickford for the friendlies. Former England goalie David James told PA: “What would be nice is having Aaron Ramsdale being given the opportunity before the World Cup to say ‘well, I can do the same things (as Pickford).
“Obviously with Arsenal he is in, you would argue, a team which is more akin to the way that England would play than perhaps Everton at the moment, and therefore there might be a seamless transition from Arsenal to England.
“We will only tell if (he is) given the opportunity but, as I say, Jordan for no reason would be dropped just because Aaron Ramsdale’s fighting for the top four with Arsenal.”
Read the full story:
Jordan Pickford backed to keep answering critics for England
England’s options across the pitch are being pored over and the goalkeeping situation continues to be debated by onlookers
England vs Switzerland: Team news reminder
Both teams have revealed their line-ups to face one another in a friendly at Wembley, kicking off at 5.30.
England released theirs first with some surprises in as Jordan Pickford retains his goalkeeper shirt. Gareth Southgate has selected: Pickford; Walker-Peters, Guehi, Coady, Stones, Shaw; Gallagher, Henderson; Mount, Foden, Kane.
Meanwhile Switzerland have picked a solid team with the likes of Shaqiri and Xhaka in the starting XI.
They have picked: Omlin, Widmer, Akanji, Frei, Embolo, Freuler, Xhaka, Steffen, Rodriguez, Vargas, Shaqiri
Kick-off now 45 minutes away.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies