England vs Switzerland

A place in the Euro 2024 semi-finals is up for grabs as England and Switzerland lock horns in a mouth-watering quarter-final tie at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf.

England headed into the tournament as the leading candidate to win the title, but their form has been far from impressive. After netting only twice in an uneventful Group C campaign (W1, D2), the Three Lions needed Jude Bellingham’s 95th-minute equalizer to squeeze past Slovakia in the opening knockout round. Harry Kane’s extra-time winner fired England into their second consecutive Euro quarter-finals. However, England’s dismal average of three shots per game is the lowest among the teams competing in the last eight. As this will be Gareth Southgate’s 100th match in charge of England, the beaten Euro 2020 finalists hope to get back on track against a Switzerland side they’ve lost to just once across their last 24 meetings (W18, D5).

On the other hand, Switzerland lived up to their tag as ‘giant slayers’ in the round of 16, dispatching reigning champions Italy 2-0 to reach back-to-back Euro quarter-finals. Though this is their fifth last-eight appearance at major tournaments, the Red Crosses need a change of scenery after slumping at this hurdle in four previous attempts. Manager Murat Yakin has every reason for optimism as his men haven’t lost any Euro 2024 fixture (W2, D2), netting a tournament third-high seven goals, with only Germany and Spain bagging more. Adding to the Swiss’ confidence, they’ve only suffered three defeats across their last 14 internationals (W6, D5). But four scoring blanks in their five most recent encounters against England paint a potentially bleak picture for Switzerland.