You shouldn’t get too carried away. But maybe there is the opportunity of a lifetime, of a story. Saturday, in Düsseldorf, the Swiss team will start on an equal footing with England in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024. Because the team that will face it may well align its host of stars, it is nothing like a scarecrow. And if she finds herself there, it’s a miracle: in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, she came down to the wire, beating Slovakia 2-1 after extra time.
We can start at the end of regulation time. In the list of English shots on target, this is where the first appears, this decisive return from Jude Bellngham after a long throw from Walker deflected by Guehi. We were playing the 5th minute of added time, and the same Bellingham had just spent 94 minutes wandering around, producing almost nothing. But if there was one good reason to leave him on the field for coach Gareth Southgate, it was there. You could call it the nose.
This is what allowed England to snatch extra time, because they had been trailing 1-0 since Schranz’s goal in the 25th minute. It is also what allowed a second shot on target, and therefore a second goal, less than sixty seconds after the start of extra time: Palmer’s free kick was returned by the Slovakian goalkeeper Dubravka, but Eze, then Toney put it back in the box and Harry Kane scored the 2-1 that inevitably changes everything.
At least as far as the result and the preparation of the Swiss team staff are concerned. But they can work with confidence. Because this English selection appeared terribly disappointing. Soporific, even.
As if, despite all its stars, it didn’t know what it was playing, as if Southgate had simply amused itself by placing the eleven most recognized players of the Perfidious Albion on a pitch in the hope that – by some miracle – it would happen something. But in this game, it is normally good to instill a few principles which can allow at least the whole team to speak the same language. It doesn’t need to be complex, just common. There, England are either a team of mute people, or a collection of players who don’t understand each other.
We had already seen it during the group stage, but perhaps the Three Lions had never fallen against a selection as coherent as Slovakia. Not spectacular, not super talented (except the Lobotka environment), but formidably organized. On paper, it doesn’t seem like anything, but there was something logical in seeing Francesco Calzona’s players strike first, because they had already been put in difficulty. Then, there was this incomprehension of the pair of English centrals Stones-Guehi on a long ball and Strelec who could serve Schranz for the opener (25th).
That was almost enough. This must be infuriating for the Slovaks. The Swiss team doesn’t care. Maybe she’s better off that way. The challenge in the quarter-finals will still be enormous. But more than ever, Switzerland has a real card to play.
