Five reasons why Switzerland will win

The Swiss footballers could advance to the semi-finals of a final round for the first time in the European Championship quarter-final against England on Saturday, starting at 6 p.m. There are good reasons why they will succeed against this opponent.

Switzerland is a team, England a collection of individuals

The 2024 year group of the Swiss team is different. At the last tournaments there were conflicts and sideshows, construction sites and unrest. The atmosphere around the national team was characterized by mistrust, often resulting in an unpleasant siege mentality along the lines of: “We’ll show you all”.

A key point for brightening the mood: Coach Murat Yakin and captain Granit Xhaka have spoken out. This week, the calmness, confidence and satisfaction of the two most important figures in the Swiss European Championship delegation could be seen and heard at press conferences. Yakin and Xhaka are in form, focused and yet relaxed. They set the tone, they are the leaders, they have united the team behind them.

The coach has achieved this with smart tactical and personnel decisions, the captain with his attitude and his performances. The Swiss team is a unit at this European Championship – even the partially prominent substitutes such as Gregor Kobel, Denis Zakaria, Nico Elvedi, Noah Okafor, Zeki Amdouni and especially Xherdan Shaqiri are not making a fuss.

The English are completely different: the atmosphere has been bad and explosive since the start of the European Championship. The pitiful performances have led to even more criticism. The English are trapped in a wagon train. On the field, the English team is a collection of outstanding individuals. In the round of 16 against Slovakia, that was enough because the exceptional talents Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane saved their team in the nick of time. Against Switzerland, that will no longer be enough.

Murat Yakin is in flow, Gareth Southgate in crisis mode

No matter what Swiss coach Yakin decides at this European Championship, it turns out to be the right one. He puts Kwadwo Duah in attack against Hungary and Xherdan Shaqiri against Scotland – both score. He puts Michel Aebischer in left midfield – a direct hit. He relies on Dan Ndoye and Fabian Rieder against Germany and Italy – both impress. The list of Yakin’s surprising and successful measures is impressive. Murat Yakin coaches in flow, he develops precise match plans with his staff.

The English and their coach are under a lot of pressure. Gareth Southgate has decided to win the European Championship without any glamour and glory and with a lot of caution. This is how he sets up his team, how he appears on the sidelines, how he talks. Southgate is hesitant, strained, grumpy – and thus the opposite of Yakin. You can’t win a European Championship in crisis mode.

The great thinker Granit Xhaka is on a mission

In 2009, Granit Xhaka became world champion with the U17 team. Since then, he has known that winning titles with Switzerland is possible. He says this again and again, he lives by this way of thinking, but since 2014 he has also failed again and again.

Most of the time, Switzerland’s failure was linked to Xhaka: because he was used incorrectly and on the side in the 2014 World Cup round of 16 against Argentina. Because he played without energy and weakly, as in the 2018 World Cup round of 16 against Sweden and in 2022 against Portugal – after emotionally charged encounters against Serbia in the preliminary round. Because he missed the decisive penalty in the 2016 European Championship round of 16 against Poland; and because he missed the quarter-finals of the Euros against Spain three years ago due to suspension.

Now everything is fine. Xhaka is on a mission, with fire and a challenge of his own that he is not revealing. It is probably about staying calm, taking one game at a time and victory after victory. Like in this fantastic season with Bayer Leverkusen, including the championship and cup win.

Switzerland is brave and unpredictable, England is conservative and static

Switzerland is competing in this European Championship with verve, courage and passion. They are well-rehearsed and unpredictable for their opponents because different players keep shining. The seven goals were scored by seven different footballers: Remo Freuler, Dan Ndoye, Michel Aebischer, Xherdan Shaqiri, Kwadwo Duah, Ruben Vargas and Breel Embolo.

England, on the other hand, is disappointing. Their performances are boring and static, and there is a lack of enthusiasm for the game. The team is also dependent on its highly criticized exceptional players: Bellingham and Kane are the only goal scorers, both of whom scored twice.

In the quarter-finals, Switzerland is the team with the lowest squad value (around 280 million Swiss francs), while England’s team is the one with the highest (1.5 billion Swiss francs). But unity and concept beat market values.

Title curse and enormous pressure on Harry Kane

There is no doubt about it: Harry Kane is a world-class striker. He has scored well over 400 goals in his career, and this season he scored 36 goals in 32 Bundesliga matches for Bayern Munich. The 30-year-old has scored 65 goals in 95 international matches for England. But Kane is chasing a title and is becoming increasingly desperate. He has won plenty of personal awards, but there are no trophies in his cabinet. Apart from winning the “Torneio Internacional Algarve U 17” with an English youth team in 2010.

For years, Kane lost important matches with Tottenham, such as the 2019 Champions League final against Liverpool – and the 2021 European Championship final against Italy with England. When he moved to Bayern Munich last summer, he finally seemed to be able to end his title curse. But Leverkusen – with Xhaka – ended Bayern’s dominance after eleven championships in a row. And Kane is still waiting. Now he is three wins away from redemption with England. The pressure is huge. And it is paralyzing the captain.