If the purpose of these international friendlies in the no man’s land between qualifying and a major tournament is to experiment and learn lessons, then mission accomplished for England and Gareth Southgate. An old system including some new faces was tested and struggled against Switzerland, before changes were needed in order to come from behind and make a winning start to this World Cup year.
One thing these games are also useful for is a bit of stat-padding. Harry Kane is now level with Sir Bobby Charlton on 49 goals for his country, with only all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney left to catch. The England captain completed the turnaround with an emphatically converted 78th-minute penalty, awarded against Steven Zuber for handball after a lengthy VAR check.
Breel Embolo had initially put Switzerland in front, capitalising on a Benjamin White error, and deservedly so. England were rough around the edges and mostly second-best until Luke Shaw’s equaliser on the brink of half time, after which the pattern of the game shifted with all the substitutions that come in these friendlies. To be honest, there was not much of a rhythm to the game before that either. Follow reaction to England’s win over Switzerland below:
