England v Switzerland: live
Follow minute-by-minute commentary of the European Championship 2012 qualifier between England and Switzerland on Saturday June 4 2011 at Wembley, kick-off 15:45 BST.
Midfield battle: Jack Wilshere is closed down by two Swiss players Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Thom Gibbs
3:45PM BST 04 Jun 2011
60000
2011-06-04 20:02:24.0
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/european-championships-2012/8549900/England-v-Switzerland-live.html?service=artBody
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Email Thom Gibbs, and at least try to pretend you're excited
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ENGLAND 2 SWITZERLAND 2
19:38: Capello will be pilloried in the morning, as ever, but that result had far more to do with his players under-performing than any massive tactical errors. England looked leggy and short of ideas apart from an encouraging spell just after half time. Credit to them for getting back into the game, if not for the slack defending that required them to do so. The inability to find a winner further underlines what we all knew anyway - England just aren't that good. Over and out from me, thanks for your company.
FULL TIME
90+3 min: Maybe not... Corner to England. Baines' delivery is headed clear by Djourou, but it's worked to Downing on the left. He crosses for Ferdinand and gets on the end of the defender's downward header giving him a great chance if he hits it first-time. He does... It's into the side netting.
90+2 min: Mehmedi unleashes a dangerous shot from just inside the box. It flashes wide. The final whistle can't come soon enough for England.
90+1 min: "It's had a real end of season feel about it," says Andy Townsend, like he's absolutely baffled that this is the case. We're going to have three added minutes.
90 min: Barnetta is off after bagging a brace, it's the excellently named Innocent Emeghara on in his place.
89 min: Switzerland free kick on the edge of the box, almost on the touchline. Ferdinand fouled Mehmedi. Shaqiri's heavy delivery fails to do anything dangerous.
88 min: On Switzerland's monotonous song, Rob asks "You prefer vuvuzuelas?" No Rob. No I don't.
87 min: Switzerland looking the more likely side to score now, England's front three look isolated, and in Bent's case very tired.
85 min: Shaqiri's corner is nodded behind by Milner.
84 min: The Swiss fans have been noisy throughout. They seem to only have one song. Here's how it goes. "Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Just that. One note. For ages. It's a little wearing. Still prefer it to the Great Escape, though.
82 min: FIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...zzzzz.zzzz..shh............ Hear that? That's this game fizzling out, just as we all feared. Milner persists to get onto a smart Baines pass, but his pull back to Young is snuffed out.
77 min: The largely ineffectual Walcott is off, Downing is indeed on in his place. It's an all Aston Villa front line for England! Somehow, that doesn't fill me with confidence.
75 min: Derdiyok is off, Mehmedi on in his place.
74 min: Derdiyok is down receiving treatment after taking an (unintentional) kick in the back from Ferdinand. This game is in danger of fizzling out. Time for (gulp) Stewart Downing? Or (definitely international class) Bobby Zamora? Excuse my ignorance - where's Adam Johnson?
71 min: Oh dear Darren Bent, that is not a wonderful shot. Young cuts through the defence but his shot is saved. Bent has the majority of the net to aim for, but he spoons it over from 10 yards on his weaker left foot. Yikes.
68 min: England's brass band continues its never-ending rendition of The Great Escape. Isn't it about time for a new signature song chaps? What about a modern classic like Tinie Tempah's Pass Out? Or an old favourite, say the theme to Men Behaving Badly?
66 min: Senderos clears Milner's corner. England are not doing enough from these, and Switzerland's zonal set-up is looking secure.
65 min: Superb play from Wilshere, who ekes out a perfect pass from deep for Bent after gliding through Switzerland's midfield. Bent elects to shoot at the advancing Benaglio when taking it round him may have been the better option.
64 min: Wilshere is booked for an over-keen tackle.
62 min: Shaqiri's decent shot from 25 yards is well caught by Hart. Switzerland certainly offer a threat, but it's England creating the majority of the chances at the moment, and they seem to have a lot more discipline at the back this half.
61 min: Dzemaili wastes a four on three for Switzerland, with an ill-advised shot from range when he had options either side of him.
60 min: Djourou concedes another corner as Parker and Baines link up well at speed. England have been far better this half.
59 min: Dzemaili on for Behrami for Switzerland.
56 min: England have a corner after Bent put decent pressure on Lichtsteiner. Young wastes it with a too-powerful kick. Paresh Gadhavi may have been jumping to conclusions when he sent this email 10 minutes ago: "Fabio Capello's another 4-3-3 looks flatfooted. Fabio's relying on speed from Walcott and Willshire middle and right-flank. Except they run into defenders. At pace. That's what it keeps on looking like. 4-3-3 didn't outnumber or manoeuver Ghana last game. Is Fabio stubborn, or foolish , or both?"
54 min: Hart claims a Barnetta free kick at the second attempt, which will do his confidence no harm whatsoever.
52 min: I'm not a big one for portents, but how significant is it that the two replacements for aging mainstays Cole and Lampard combined gorgeously for that goal? That was such an exciting move to see unfold, which is a rarity when watching England.
51 min: GOAL!! England 2 Switzerland 2 (Young)
Milner's cross is submlimely chested down by Baines to tee up Young for a half volley. He hits it beautifully, lashing it into the far corner. Lovely goal!
49 min: England look a bit desperate, hurrying free kicks and passes at the expense of any real thought to where they want the ball to go. Good old England.
46 min: Ashley Young is on for Frank Lampard, which seems like a slightly odd sub. Walcott bursts through almost straight from kick off and is surely fouled by Djourou on the very cusp of the box?! No, the ref's not having it. David Mnjama thinks he's got this "club that England most resembles" lark licked: "Remember the crazy gang of late 80’s? Yes, Wimbledon. Gutsy when required, but missing that bit of quality…"
HALF TIME
Lots of boos from the ever-charming England crowd as the half time whistle peeps. That was a defensively dodgy half from the home side, and I expect Fabio will be crumpling the undersized coffee cups in anger in the dressing room. Switzerland look threatening and fast up front but Bent has so nearly got behind them completely three times so far. The next 45 should be an interesting test of this England side's credentials. See you in 15.
45+1 min: Lampard was never going to score from that range, and duly didn't. Miles wide.
45 min: It's gone a bit flat again. That flurry of goals and excitement was pretty incongruous in the context of this half. Behrami is booked for a late tackle on Milner. Lampard sizes up a free kick 30 yards out.
42 min: Shaqiri, like some footballing he-wolf, looks dangerous as he sashays out of reach of England's back four. He eventually misplaces his pass horribly. Oh.
40 min: Milner plays what looks a marvellous ball into the middle for Bent, but he's offisde. England have the bit between their teeth now, but would desperately like an equaliser before half time.
39 min: Bent loiters behind the keeper as Lampard prepares to cross from a free kick out wide. Benaglio flaps at it, but Bent is too closely marshalled to put his header anywhere but over.
37 min: GOAL!! England 1 Switzerland 2 (Lampard)
Lampard's low shot just sneaks under Benaglio's right arm. Blimey, this is all exciting all of a sudden!
36 min: PENALTY TO ENGLAND!
Djourou trips Wilshere in the box, clear pen. Djourou is booked.
35 min: GOAL!! England 0 Switzerland 2 (Barnetta)
He's done it again! A rattled England concede a free kick just oustide the right side of the area. Barnetta lashes it through a meek wall and Hart is beaten at his near post!
32 min: GOAL!! England 0 Switzerland 1 (Barnetta)
Swtizerland win a free kick in a promising but innocuous position. England set up to defend the whipped-in cross, with Hart positioned to expect a header on the end of it. In the end Barnetta's dainty curling cross evades everyone, bounces once, and sneaks in! Lovely delivery, but poor defending from England.
30 min: Ashley Cole is limping off. Here comes Leighton Baines, who has a haircut which suggests he's keen on the bands Kasabian and Ocean Colour Scene. Phat Ntutu nominates Blackpool as the club side England resemble most. I can see that - gutsy, lots of pretty passing, ultimately not good enough.
26 min: Ferdinand nods just over in the afermath of an England corner. Getting closer. Which club team do England remind you of most? I'm really struggling to come up with an accurate comparison. Liverpool on a bad day, maybe? Suggestions here please.
23 min: Nice, pacy play for England. Parker and Johnson team up to have a go at Switzerland down the right flank. Johnson eventually finds space for a cross, but Milner heads it wide.
20 min: Hart is forced to beat away Shaqiri's curler for a corner. That's his fourth decent save so far, which is probably more than he would have budgeted for in the opening 20 minutes.
18 min: ITV's man on the touchline Gabriel Clarke reports that lots of England fans are still outside. Some trouble with ticket scanning, apparently. And people staying in beer gardens for as long as possible. A perfect storm. Hard to see what's an empty seat and what's a spectator wearing an England away shirt on this disappointing normal definition screen.
16 min: Some pleasing, patient play from England, who exchange a series of quick passes while always moving forward. In the end Wilshere's cross isn't met by Walcott.
15 min: Ashley Cole is limping, and signalling to the bench in an ominous way.
13 min: Parker wins the ball from Behrami and feeds Bent. Switzerland's defence do an impression of the Derby, four sprinting in a line behind him. Bent's got no more than a length on them, so is inevitably disposessed as he attempts to size up a sideways pass.
10 min: Lampard's corner is headed away easily by Senderos. Switzerland break through Barnetta, but at least six of the Three Lions are back quickly to defend.
8 min: Inler's goalbound shot from just inside the box gets a big deflection, but Hart adjusts to save. Derdiyok looks sure to bury the follow-up, Hart saves again! He was offside in any case. England looking lax and short of sharpness at the back.
6 min: England's defence get themsleves into a bit of a muddle and present Barnetta with a chance just inside the area. Cole is on hand with a slightly clumsy challenge but the ball falls to Derdiyok. Hart saves his snap shot capably.
3 min: Johnson gets an almost unopposed header at goal from the corner. It's a powerful connection but Benaglio saves well. Johnson gets a second bite, but Benaglio is quickly up to make a second save. Good start from Inger-land United FC.
2 min: A long ball drops for Bent, who's got well behind the Swiss full-back. He controls and cuts back with confidence for Walcott in the middle, but Senderos blocks for an England corner.
1 min: Swizerland begin the game. Settle down, excitement junkies.
16:43: Darren Bent opts for a closed mouth and a face of fury. Every other England player sings along with varying degrees of gusto.
16:41: Please rise for the national anthems.
16:39: Wayne Rooney has made a genuinely funny joke via Twitter! Here it is: "3 0 England. Bent. Terry. And Johnson late on. #hairwego". Self-awareness! Self-deprecation! Hashtag LOLs! Great work, Wayne.
16:38: Monty chimes in on the hair transplant "debate" with an email that's two parts cryptic, one chilling: "if u get a graft from below the belt, it can grow in any direction"
16:35: ITV's pre-match packages are becoming more and more ornate. We watch England's starting eleven have Polaroids of themselves taken, shaking them, then signing them. No-one knows why.
16:25: Jamie Weidner seems to have missed the careful, you could almost say Swissesque, neutrality in the phrasing of my Wayne Rooney questions below. "Get a life Thom (said with a little passion)! Your job is to comment on a football match, not the human frailties of people who don't match up to the perfect human being..." I don't think Nick Amies email is going to make you very happy Jamie. Avert your eyes now: "For someone who looks like he fell out of the ugly tree and hit all the branches on the way down, going bald should be the least of poor Wayne's worries. As a fellow slaphead, I recommend shaving it all off. It won't make him any prettier but at least he'll avoid looking like Elton John after a heavy mugging." Harsh words, Nick.
16:15: Here are the teams:
England: Hart; Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole; Parker, Wilshere, Lampard; Walcott, Bent, Milner
Subs: Green, Jagielka, Baines, Barry, Young, Downing, Zamora
Switzerland: Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Senderos, Djourou, Ziegler; Barnetta, Behrami, Inler, Xhaka, Shaqiri; Derdiyok
Subs: Wolfli, Von Bergen, Emeghara, Dzemaili, Fernandes, Mehmedi, Margairaz
16:05: What is your opinion on Wayne Rooney visiting a hair transplant clinic? Do you find it funny? Or strangely sad? Have you had a hair transplant? How did it work out for you? All good questions I would love to get answers to. Email me here.
15:55: James Milner starts for England, in something of a surprise move. Ashley Young is on the bench. Walcott comes in for the suspended (and folically hopeful) Wayne Rooney. Rio Ferdinand partners John Terry at centre back. The full team shall follow shortly.
15:45: After a pulsating Champions League final, the inevitably excellent conclusion to the play-offs, and the other horse and wicket-centric sporting excitement happening elsewhere today, this Euro 2012 qualifier is less after the Lord Mayor's show, more after school detention.
These naughty England players aren't being allowed to go on their holiday quite yet, as stern Fabio is determined to make them pay for a low-quality Premier League season with this runaround against the typically obstinate Swiss.
They're not short on quality, with Gokhan Inler and Valon Behrami both able to work neutral magic from midfield, but any side with the Arsenaltastic central defensive partnership of Johann Djourou and Phillipe Senderos should not worry England.
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