SWISS ON A ROLL AFTER LEAVING PRE-EUROS FORM IN THEIR WAKE

ENGLAND would no doubt have leapt at the prospect of a quarterfinal against Switzerland ahead of this tournament, but two weeks is a long time in football.

- Dom Smith

While the Swiss have shown their best face at Euro 2024, England are still grasping for coherence, confidence and — Jude Bellingham’s preposterous bicycle kick aside — inspiration.

The Swiss have been one of the finest teams at these Euros, starting with a statement 3-1 win against Hungary before 1-1 draws against Scotland and Germany. They then toppled title holders Italy in the last 16 on Saturday, winning 2-0.

“Switzerland were poor in the qualifying games for this tournament. They conceded a lot of goals, scraped through in second place [behind Romania] and won only one of their last seven games,” says Swiss football expert Craig King.

“The team that has shown up in the last five tournaments has been the one that has chosen to show itself at this Euros. The building blocks have been in place since 2014, across three managers. Without doubt, this squad is capable of reaching the final.”

Since, and including, the 2014 World Cup, Switzerland have shown themselves to be a remarkably consistent tournament team. In that time, they have reached the knockout stages of every major event.