England – Switzerland: Saka The Saviour (1-1, 5-4 After Penalties)

England switched to a 3-4-3 system for this match, offering them some improvement in their pressing and some more natural possession play. However, they needed Bukayo Saka’s individual brilliance to save them from elimination, and eventually secure the victory on penalties.

This tactical preview has been written by Josh Manley.

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England got away with a dreadful performance against Slovakia in the previous round, and it seemed apparent that Gareth Southgate would need to change the team’s setup this time around in order to avoid a repeat performance. They faced Switzerland, one of the tournament’s most impressive teams so far with a dynamic 3-4-3 system that had led to some good attacking displays.

Southgate opted to match Switzerland’s back three system with one of his own, as England started with a defensive trio of Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Ezri Konsa. Kobbie Mainoo and Declan Rice were the central midfield pairing, while Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham were the number tens in a 3-4-2-1 system. Bukayo Saka and Kieran Trippier were deployed as wing-backs, with Harry Kane playing up front.

Murat Yakin meanwhile selected a back three of Fabian Schär, Manuel Akanji, and Ricardo Rodriguez. Dan Ndoye and Michel Aebischer were the wing-backs, with Remo Freuler and Granit Xhaka pairing in central midfield. Fabian Rieder and Ruben Vargas then supported Breel Embolo up front.

England’s improved pressing

Southgate had said pre-match that the switch to a back three was at least partially aimed at neutralizing Switzerland’s own back three system. This was demonstrated in England’s improved pressing game, especially in the first half, compared to the passive defensive displays shown previously in the tournament.

England’s shape allowed them to largely match Switzerland up man for man. The front three could pressure Switzerland’s back three, while special attention seemed to paid to limiting Xhaka’s influence in midfield as Mainoo often pushed forward from midfield to mark him more tightly when England pressed high.

England were able to defend more proactively in this match. 

Rice would cover slightly deeper, while Saka and Trippier could play against Switzerland’s wing-backs. Aebischer often inverted when Switzerland had the ball, meaning Saka would sometimes come into more central positions in England’s pressing.

Although the high pressing was relatively good for England, Switzerland’s strong possession play still meant that England were forced into deeper defending at times. In these scenes, England dropped back into a more compact 5-2-3 system.

Switzerland’s structural fluidity was shown most prominently on their left side, where the inverting of Aebischer was often combined with forward movements by Rodriguez in the wide areas, as well as Xhaka dropping into the back three to collect the ball. Vargas could then stretch the defense in width and depth. There was also plenty of threat from Switzerland on the other side of the pitch, where Ndoye combined dangerously with the likes of Rieder and Embolo, and Freuler could arrive into the box from deep.

Possession adjustments

In possession, England’s system was similar in some ways to the ones used previously in the tournament. Saka would hold the width on the right, while Trippier would have the responsibility for the left side. With the switch to a formal back three system, Trippier did seem to move more consistently higher up on the left side, although still lacked some attacking threat and tended to cut back inside too often.

England’s back three was slightly asymmetric thanks to Walker being given the freedom to move forward in support of Saka at times, and often taking a more advanced starting position in the right halfspace. This meant that England sometimes appeared as a back four in possession. The right side of the pitch carried the greatest threat for England thanks to Saka’s impressive play, where he showed his one-versus-one superiority against Aebischer on a few occasions.

England’s 3-4-3 shape got their attackers into some better positions, but they still struggled to create chances. 

The biggest difference for England from previous games was Foden’s role. He now played as the right sided number ten and was able to involve himself more naturally in the game from this position. He was still not as productive as other attackers, but this game was certainly an improvement for him.

With Foden and Bellingham as number tens, plus an extremely classy midfield performance from Mainoo, England were able to put together some decent possession phases against Switzerland’s 5-4-1 defensive block.

England did still lack cutting edge, especially on the left side where the lack of natural width continues to be an issue. There was also, of course, a somewhat stability-first approach underlying England’s possession play, as the number tens often dropped lower into midfield to help ball-circulation. But England looked more natural with the ball than they have since the start of the tournament.

Saka the saviour

Switzerland were the first side to make substitutes in this game, as Steven Zuber and Silvan Widmer replaced Rieder and Vargas. This saw Ndoye moving to a more advanced position on the right as Widmer went to right wing-back.

Switzerland had one of their better spells in the game shortly after these substitutions, and were eventually able to open the scoring with fifteen minutes remaining as Embolo arrived at the far post to tap in the only big chance created in the game.

This forced Southgate to finally respond with some changes as Luke Shaw, Eberechi Eze, and Cole Palmer replaced Mainoo, Trippier, and Konsa. Shaw was deployed as a left center-back, Eze as left wing-back, and Palmer as number ten alongside Foden as Bellingham moved back into central midfield. Just five minutes later, Saka produced a moment of magic from outside the box to draw England level, and ultimately bring the game into extra-time.

Southgate decided to stick with the more attacking setup in extra-time. England did benefit from the more attacking approach on the left side, as Eze looked very dangerous with his dribbling, and Shaw’s technical proficiency and occasional forward runs from left center-back gave England new options.

Overall though, they were unable to create too much during extra-time, and if anything Switzerland looked more likely to score in the final minutes, as England had to survive some attacks to bring the game to penalties.

England were able to prevail in the penalty shootout thanks to Jordan Pickford’s early save, and some expertly taken spot kicks from the likes of Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold who had both been introduced late on, specifically for penalty duties.

Takeaways

England’s 3-4-3 system offered some improvements on both sides of the ball, and England looked more functional than they have previously in the tournament. Still, creativity was an issue, especially on the left side before substitutes were introduced. In the end, Saka’s individual quality was what saved the team from elimination, and they now face a semi-final against the Netherlands.

Switzerland were one of the most impressive sides in the tournament overall, with their fluid 3-4-3 system producing some very good football, nearly beating hosts Germany and knocking out tournament holders Italy.

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