Switzerland vs. England: Score, Grades and Reaction from Euro 2016 Qualifier

England opened their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win in Switzerland on Monday evening.

The opening game of their Group E campaign was England's hardest on paper, with Switzerland ranked ninth in the world, but it was one they passed in dogged fashion.

The Three Lions did not roll over their opponents and needed a couple of saves from Joe Hart to keep out the Swiss. But a pair of second-half goals from Danny Welbeck were enough to earn the three points.

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The shin finish is so underrated. pic.twitter.com/ne9XlBsxhK

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 8, 2014"

Fabian Delph's first impression on the competitive international stage was to make a serious impact on the foot of Valon Behrami which earned him a stern talking to from referee Cuneyt Cakir. A couple of minutes later, Delph lunged in on Stephan Lichtsteiner on the touchline and picked up a deserved yellow card.

Modern goalkeepers have to be good with their feet, and on 10 minutes Hart produced the sort of pass that Andrea Pirlo would have been proud of.

After collecting a ball into the box, Hart volleyed a 70-yard pass right to the feet of Raheem Sterling to set an England break in motion. Jack Wilshere clipped a pass into the path of Wayne Rooney, but Ricardo Rodriguez got across to make a superb tackle.

Switzerland were content to allow England to have possession in their own half, but they bared their teeth for the first time in the match on 18 minutes.

Xherdan Shaqiri won possession in his own half and spotted the run of Admir Mehmedi. A first-time pass from the latter played in Haris Seferovic. He got the wrong side of Phil Jones, who clipped the Swiss striker but the referee waved away the home side's protests.

Rooney came into the game having scored 41 goals for his country. He had a chance to make it 42 on 28 minutes but failed to direct Leighton Baines' fizzing cross on target. The finish lacked quality, but the build-up play and darting run were good.

The best and the worst of Welbeck were in evidence on the half-hour mark. The newest Arsenal striker showed real desire to win a ball ahead of Steve von Bergen. Welbeck's speed took him into the box and he had options available.

The shot was on, as was a pass to Rooney at the back post and Raheem Sterling in the centre. He elected to pick out Sterling, but his pass lacked accuracy and the chance went begging.

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And that is exactly why #MUFC sold Danny Welbeck...

— Sam Pilger (@sampilger) September 8, 2014"

Hart was forced to make his first save of the match on 33 minutes and it was an excellent one. The impressive Shaqiri played a clever reverse pass into the path of Seferovic. He set his sights on bending the ball into the far corner with his left foot, but Hart was able to stick out a right boot and make the save.

Yann Sommer twice came to Switzerland's aid in the minutes before half-time. He was somewhat unconvincing in shovelling a swerving shot from Rooney behind for a corner. From that corner, he was entirely convincing as he plunged to his left to keep out a header from Jones, who had climbed unmarked 10 yards out to head powerfully on target.

Chances were traded at the start of the second half. Jack Wilshere, advancing from his position at the base of England's midfield, saw a shot deflected wide, while Lichtsteiner shot over the bar—albeit under excellent pressure from Baines.

Sterling passed up a glaring chance on 52 minutes. The Liverpool forward exchanged passes with his team-mate Jordan Henderson. The ball back to him was true and inviting, but Sterling completely missed his kick.

"

Can't miss chances like that at this level. Thats one great save and two decent opportunities spurned.

— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) September 8, 2014"

Hart produced an excellent save to deny Seferovic on 57 minutes, and shortly afterwards England took the lead.

Rooney, Sterling and Welbeck pressed the Swiss defence and won the ball. Rooney surged forward at pace before slipping a pass to Sterling. His cross for Welbeck was excellent and the forward fired the ball into the bottom corner.

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Congratulations to new @Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck on his goal for England against Switzerland tonight! pic.twitter.com/IfiOcz8UAX

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) September 8, 2014"

It wasn't the prettiest finish, as it came off his shin, but it mattered not one iota to England boss Roy Hodgson who celebrated with real enthusiasm on the touchline.

England's good work was almost undone on the 70-minute mark. Josip Drmic broke free of the England central defenders and rounded Hart. He turned the ball goalwards and looked all set to celebrate, but Gary Cahill charged back to slide the ball off the line.

It was a clearance of huge importance from Cahill, as England held firm in the face of some sustained Swiss pressure in the final 15 minutes.

And as Switzerland chased the game, England broke forward in injury time and Welbeck slotted home an excellent finish to kick off their campaign on the front foot.

England's focus will now shift to two games with San Marino and Estonia in October. The Three Lions welcome San Marino to Wembley on October 9, before a trip to Estonia three days later. Having started the campaign with a win, Hodgson will want six more points before winter sets in.

Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images

Grades

Joe Hart: B+

The 'keeper's position as Manchester City No. 1 may be under threat following the arrival of Willy Caballero, but he is Hodgson's first choice and showed why with a couple of excellent saves, solid handling and good distribution.

Fabian Delph: B-

It was a bright first international start from the Aston Villa man. He was incisive on the ball and set up a number of attacks, but rash challenges—one of which earned a booking—need to be cut out.

Danny Welbeck: B+

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

With Daniel Sturridge out injured, Welbeck was the obvious choice to lead the line. It was his first game since signing for Arsenal, and he scored the sort of no-frills goal that Gunners fans will want to see more of. He added a second in injury time to cap a fine display.

Post-match Reaction:

Hodgson was pleased with the win, against a side he felt would be tough to beat. Speaking to Sky Sports, Hodgson said:

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It will give [the young players] a lot of confidence.

Switzerland have not lost qualifying matches here since England beat them four years ago, so this was always going to be a tough ask.

I think the players stood up to it very, very well. We really got our rewards tonight.

I think we have been building up to this type of performance over the course of two years.

We had the unfortunate kick in the teeth in Brazil. We had to pick ourselves up, put our teeth back in and go again.

"