Football News Euro 2012 – Switzerland vs. England Preview
After a confident start of the qualifying stage, England will be looking further to cement their place at the top of the group when they take on Switzerland in Basel in a crucial Group G encounter. England has already started their qualification process with a handsome 4-0 win over Bulgaria; this will be the first qualification match for Switzerland after they drew with Australia 0-0 in a friendly match on Friday.
The match will be crucial to the outcome from the group and England will be looking to build on their impressive win at Wembley, which was aided largely by Tottenham Hotspur hitman Jermain Defoe. Switzerland manager Ottmar Hitzfeld warned in the aftermath of the 0-0 draw against the Socceroos that they must be more compact defensively and that if they are that open against the English, they might have to pay for it with a spate of goal.
The veteran manager is a match for England manager Fabio Capello and knows how high-octane matches operate. Hitzfeld was the only manager who was able to stop the Spanish machine at the World Cup in South Africa. Spain was defeated in their first group match, which was against Switzerland but then went on to claim the biggest prize in world cup football. Capello will be aware of the tactical manager that Hitzfeld is, and must be well prepared.
4-4-2 worked very well for Capello at Wembley against Bulgaria with Defoe especially reaping the benefits of a confident home performance. Even though Capello is expected to keep faith with the first team that started at Wembley (sans Michael Dawson who got injured); a more defensive and European formation should give the Italian food for thought. Not only would a variety of 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 disrupt the plans of Hitzfeld, it would also give them the surprise advantage in a crucial qualifying match. Capello might be inclined to say however, that one should not tinker with a winning squad.
There are no major selection headaches for the England boss except to figure out who to bring in place of Dawson. The options range from Matthew Upson, Gary Cahill and Joleon Lescott with Phil Jagielka looking as if he will keep his place in the starting eleven. The bringing on of Cahill to replace Dawson at Wembley might be indicative as to which way Capello is leaning.
One unexpected twist however, has come up at the weekend in the shape and form of the rumours regarding the personal life of Wayne Rooney. According to tabloids in England, the forward was involved in activities which would harm his reputation and fame as a family man. It also comes at a crucial time when Rooney is away on international duty. It has been rumoured that he might be left out of the starting eleven but with Capello determined to get the maximum points in Basel, he will be disinclined to do so. Capello’s desperation to overlook personal follies to gain maximum points sadly hark back to the days when the England manager was in control, and had said that first eleven team players must have an impeccable personal background so as to be viewed as role models across the country. Rooney will not be a role model for a while now, yet he is so important to the England cause so as to be un-droppable. Rooney has flown to Basel with the team and with rumours circulating that his head is not ‘right,’ there was talk he might not be picked. That seems very unlikely for the reasons explained however.
The rest of the team should pick itself with Capello hoping that this scandal will not taint the confidence of the Three Lions.
Switzerland will be hoping for a defensive performance and ensure that at the very least, they are not defeated. A loss will be a bitter blow to them at the start of their qualifying campaign. For England, they will have to keep an eye on Switzerland’s tough-tackling midfielder Gokhan Inler. Inler has been linked to numerous clubs due to his excellent performances in Europe, and has a long shot which could produce something out of nothing. England would do well to keep the Swiss captain at bay.
England should be able to win the game but Hitzfeld will make sure he makes it as hard as possible for them. With England susceptible to scoring against teams who defend well, this will be a bigger test than expected for Capello. The Three Lions would do well to win in Basel and even a draw would not be a bad result here.
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