Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Switzerland could line up for Saturday’s Euro 2024 quarter-final against England.
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka appears to have survived an alarming injury scare ahead of Saturday’s Euro 2024 quarter-final against England at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf.
The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder was sent for scans on an adductor problem earlier this week, but he has been given the all-clear and is believed to be winning his battle to be fit for the clash with the Three Lions.
Xhaka has not been able to take part in all team training sessions this week, but the ex-Arsenal man is expected to be deployed from the off in Murat Yakin‘s familiar 3-4-2-1 system alongside Remo Freuler, scorer of the opening goal in the 2-0 last-16 win over Italy.
Wing-back Silvan Widmer missed the beating of the reigning champions due to suspension, but Dan Ndoye shone in his place, leaving Yakin with a selection pickle to ponder for the trip to Dusseldorf.
With a refreshed Widmer surely coming back into the fold, Ndoye could be pushed further forward into the three-man Swiss attack, thereby forcing Fabian Rieder to accept a place on the bench.
Ndoye – who has apparently caught the eye of Manchester United with his performances at the Euros – will therefore link arms with Breel Embolo and Ruben Vargas, who scored himself after setting up Freuler’s strike against Italy.
One area where Yakin has no dilemmas is in defence, as Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji and Ricardo Rodriguez are all nailed-on to start in front of Yann Sommer, now seven caps shy of reaching 100 for the national team.
Switzerland possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Schar, Rodriguez, Akanji; Widmer, Xhaka, Freuler, Aebischer; Ndoye, Vargas; Embolo
> Click here to see how England could line up for the quarter-final
No Data Analysis info