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.
