How Switzerland plan to exploit England’s ‘weaknesses’ in Euro 2024 quarter-finals after upsetting Italians
ENGLAND have been warned by Swiss boss Murat Yakin: We rattled the Germans and the Italians – and now we’re coming for you
The Three Lions take on Switzerland in their Euros quarter-final on Saturday in Dusseldorf – having avoided an embarrassing last-16 defeat to Slovakia with a 95th-minute equaliser and extra-time winner.
Manager Gareth Southgate has been heavily criticised for his side’s woeful form, while Yakin’s Swiss group are on cloud nine after their superb 2-0 win over the Italians to reach the quarters.
Switzerland also came close to beating hosts Germany and nicking a group stage top spot but for Niclas Fullkrug’s injury time equaliser.
And Yakin said: “We played well against Germany and were good against Italy, another big team, so why can’t we beat England? It’s a good challenge.
“My team is ready to fight against England. We know their strengths, and we also know their weaknesses.
“We saw that playing against certain teams in the groups is difficult, with a big block in the defence, and we also had problems with this.
“When you see the squad from England and the squad of my team, the value of England is much bigger than our team, but we have an opponent who wants to play and that’s good.
“We are in a good situation. We have played well and have good results. We have a good spirit in the team.”
However, Yakin understands that England are capable are clicking into gear at the right time after a poor tournament so far – especially with their star-studded squad.
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Yakin continued: “They have big players. The expectation is great and they need this tournament.
“You see someone like Jude Bellingham and you see a guy who has won a Champions League, but we have to focus on all their players because they can make a difference.
Swiss skipper Granit Xhaka is expected to start against England despite struggling with an adductor injury which required a scan on Monday.
Former Arsenal midfielder Xhaka, 31, required injections to get through the Italy win and trained away from the squad yesterday, but the Swiss say his starting place is “not in danger”.