Match Day LIVE
Euro Championship 2024
England vs Switzerland
Quarter Finals
Venae – Dusseldorf , Germany .
Time – 17.00 hours CAT.

Gareth Southgate s 100th match as England Manager, becoming only the third manager to hit the milestone.
England have lost just one of their last 24 meetings with Switzerland in all competitions (W17 D6) Will it end in humiliation or celebration ,Southgate ???? the next 90+ mins will define and answer the question

Dusseldorf is electrifying from agency reports as English fans take over the center stage in all pubs and major areas around the stadium in Dusseldorf , shouting , *It is coming Home * It is coming home ” repeatedly , meaning that rhey want the three lions to beat the Swiss team at all cost and bring the much coveted trophy to the English capital , London . If wishes were hosres , it will work that way for them but football seems to be unpredictable and not mathematics , where 2-2-4..

England famously have not lifted a trophy in a major competition since the 1966 World Cup. However, Gareth Southgate’s men enter the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 as the +400 co-favorites, alongside Spain, to lift the trophy. Meanwhile Switzerland are looking to make the semifinals of a major tournament for the first time in team history.
While a handful of England fans opted to throw their empty cups in the direction of Southgate after their tepid final Group C draw with Slovenia, others may have had their glasses half full with optimism that knockout football would re-light a fire within the Three Lions’ bellies
As it turned out, mediocrity was still the theme for the Euro 2020 runners-up in their last-16 battle with Slovakia, who deservedly went ahead through Ivan Schranz’s third goal of the tournament and repelled futile England attacks for over 90 minutes in Gelsenkirchen.
However, a moment of sheer magic from Jude Bellingham saw the 21-year-old leave Martin Dubravka stranded to the spot with a dazzling bicycle kick, before Harry Kane needed just 52 seconds of extra time to complete a heroic England turnaround, but one that still sparked familiar criticism once the euphoria had settled.

Not one England performance at Euro 2024 has seen the Three Lions run out convincing victors, and they have not won a game in 90 minutes since edging out Serbia on the opening matchweek, but the fact of the matter is that Southgate has now led his nation to four successive major tournament quarter-finals.
With seven victories in knockout matches at the World Cup and European Championships, Southgate’s septet of successes is the more than all other England men’s managers combined since 1966, but such statistics will offer little comfort if football does not come home again.
On a side note, Southgate will achieve a personal honour regardless of the outcome in Dusseldorf, as Saturday’s quarter-final will see the former defender take charge of his 100th game for England, a feat that only Sir Walter Winterbottom (139) and Sir Alf Ramsay (113) have managed previously for the men’s team.

The Three Lions had already avenged their Euro 2020 heartbreak to Italy during qualifying, but they will not have the opportunity for an even sweeter slice of vengeance against the Azzurri in Dusseldorf, courtesy of Switzerland’s merited beating of the current holders.
After playing provider for Remo Freuler’s deadlock-breaker, Ruben Vargas turned goalscorer in the first minute of the second half to ensure that a new European champion would be crowned in Berlin on July 14, while also making the Rossocrociati the first team to book their quarter-final spot.

With a statement win over Hungary and applaudable draw with Germany – who only equalised in second-half injury time – under their belts, Yakin’s men have taken on the role of dark horses and now have a second straight quarter-final to look forward to, but they have never been past this stage of any major tournament.
However, as well as England’s limp performances offering the Rossocrociati plenty of optimism, Yakin’s troops have now strung together an eight-game unbeaten streak in all tournaments and have lost just once in 18 since the 2022 World Cup; a 1-0 qualifying reverse to Romania.

Not since a 1981 World Cup qualifier have Switzerland come up trumps over England, though, as the Three Lions have won their last five against the Rossocrociati and are unbeaten in 13 – unlucky for some – and current boss Yakin was part of the Swiss side that went down 3-0 to England in the Euro 2004 group stage.
If the Rossocrociati boss can avenge that defeat two decades on, he will snap a record-breaking run for the Swiss, as no other European nation has played in as many as four major tournament quarter-finals without ever reaching the semis.

Insult was added to injury for England centre-back Marc Guehi in the last-16 win over Slovakia, as in addition to hurting his shoulder while fruitlessly trying to stop Schranz from scoring, the Crystal Palace man picked up the yellow card that rules him out of this quarter-final.
With Guehi out of contention and England struggling for attacking inspiration with their 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 setup, Southgate is reportedly considering a change to a three-man defence for Saturday, where Ezri Konsa is the favourite to step in for his banned teammate.
Despite returning to full training before the knockouts began, Luke Shaw is yet to earn any minutes for England at the Euros and should not be thrown back into the first XI after almost five months out, so Kieran Trippier and Bukayo Saka may act as Southgate’s wing-backs.

There were fears that Jude Bellingham could have been banned for the weekend afer a crotch-grabbing celebration in the direction of the Slovakia bench, but he has only been handed a suspended ban and is therefore fine to line up from the off here.
England vs. Switzerland also means Declan Rice vs. Granit Xhaka as a current and former Arsenal midfielder collide, and the latter is thought to be winning his race to be fit for the weekend despite a brief scare over an adductor injury; scans showed that there was nothing seriously wrong with him.
Yakin is therefore expected to have a clean bill of health and faces the best kind of selection predicament on the right, where Silvan Widmer returns from a one-game suspension after Dan Ndoye excelled in his place in the win over Italy.
One solution for Yakin would be to move Ndoye into the front three at the expense of Fabian Rieder and recall Widmer to his usual right wing-back position, where a fascinating battle with Saka could materialise.
Yakin’s only fitness concern relates to attacker Noah Okafor, who is struggling with some discomfort but was never going to start anyway..

If we are to predict this match from each of the teams last performance in their last matches , England do not deserve a place in the quarter finals , (emphasis mine anyway) and also football is not Mathematics , that you win the other day is not a guarantee for another win the next match.
In contrast to the Switzerland team who have not gone beyond the quarter finals in this tournament , their football prowess , pukka play preicise passes and rock solid rear men is enough to get them a well deserved win against the three lions , whose lack lustre as well as amateurish display infornt of goal in this tournament lives much to be desired .

Predictions -2-1 Or 1-1 at full and extra time .Likey to be penalty shootout .

Happy Viewing , Happy weekkend .
Uchefreetips (2024. C).
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Email-ucheanaba1@gmail.co.m.

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