Switzerland vs. England: Tactical Preview of Opening Euro 2016 Qualifier
England and Switzerland begin their Euro 2016 Qualifying campaigns in Basel on Monday night.
Switzerland have a new manager and played no friendlies between their loss to Argentina in Brazil and now, while Roy Hodgson has played just one game against Norway and received heavy criticism in the aftermath.
How will this one play out from a tactical perspective?
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Switzerland Setup
Switzerland came oh-so-close to making the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, losing to a last-minute Angel Di Maria winner in extra-time.
Not a lot has changed since that moment other than the manager, and Vladimir Petkovic is taking charge of his first game at the Swiss helm since leaving Lazio this summer.
It makes them tough to gauge tactically, but winger Xherdan Shaqiri remains determined to start on the front foot:
"We know they want to make amends for what went wrong at the World Cup," the Bayern Munich man told the Mirror. "They will be coming here to win. But we will play our own game. And if we play as we can, we will win."
Diego Benaglio has retired, so Yann Sommer is the obvious choice ahead of the tie.
England Setup
Roy Hodgson's chief concern ahead of the fixture is relieving the pressure on his young Lions' shoulders, pleading with reporters to cut them some slack. The 67-year-old told the press on Saturday, as per The Telegraph:
"Maybe I’m asking for too much of an ideal world here—and from you all [the media]—but let me make the point that in an ideal world it would be nice to look at the squad as it is now, look at the individual players and the types of talents they are, at how quickly they’ve come from being total unknowns to being accepted as respected England players. They would agree with me that they need a bit of time, these players.
"
Per the same report, England have trained in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Wayne Rooney up front due to Daniel Sturridge's injury, ruling him out of action for up to three weeks, per the Mirror.
"Fabian Delph in line for shock #England start v Switzerland http://t.co/CDyWhuFCRM
— Matt Hughes (@MattHughesTimes) September 8, 2014"
That could see Arsenal's new striker Danny Welbeck on the left and Raheem Sterling wide or central, while Jordan Henderson is also an injury doubt with James Milner or perhaps Fabian Delph the favourite to step in.
Key Area 1: Getting behind England's midfield
The idea of a Jordan Henderson-Jack Wilshere holding midfield pairing was scary enough, but with Henderson injured the duo becomes even weaker.
James Milner's best-ever football has come from a central midfield role, but that was in a flatter role of a 4-4-2—not deeper in a 4-2-3-1 where responsibility is paramount.
Henderson's injury could see Hodgson switch to a 4-4-2 like England showed against Norway for 70 minutes, and while that formation is asinine and negative, it may be the only option sans Gareth Barry.
If Hodgson goes 4-2-3-1 with Wilshere and Milner, Switzerland's first target must be to invade the space in and around the two holding midfielders like Italy did at the World Cup.
You can do it with a No. 10 or two inverted wingers; they simply need to drop into the space behind the midfielders and play as "needle players"—conduits for the ball in tight areas.
If they can pick out runners, shoot or turn and dribble frequently, England are in trouble.
Key Area 2: Getting behind Switzerland's full-backs
In the same way Switzerland can take inspiration from Italy at the World Cup to win here, England should hit the film room themselves.
In the second group game against France, the Swiss were downed 5-2 by Karim Benzema's France. Didier Deschamps played the Real Madrid striker on the left to take advantage of the space left by Stephan Lichtsteiner bombing forward, who doesn't truly excel in a proper full-back role.
Raheem Sterling can do as much damage as Benzema in space, and he's got the pick of the wings too: Lichtsteiner's forward energy is matched by Ricardo Rodriguez's on the opposite flank, meaning Hodgson can work both areas if he wants to.
The Swiss may not be as defensively sturdy as they were under Ottmar Hitzfeld, but if Valon Behrami has an off-day in tracking, Sterling will punish them in Basel.
