Filed under: Euro 2012, Football, Match Previews, England Football
EURO 2012 QUALIFYING GROUP G: WEMBLEY STADIUM, SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2011. KICK-OFF: 1645 BSTA season that started with England in disarray in the wake of the World Cup in South Africa will end on positive note if Fabio Capello's side can secure victory against Switzerland.
A win should ensure England maintain their position at the head of Group G ahead of Montenegro, who play Bulgaria at home later the same evening, with three games remaining. Anything less than victory, however, will undo recent progress and leave Capello once again feeling the pressure.
Injuries, suspensions and the hangover from South Africa forced the Italian to review the team's formation and personnel over the course of the campaign but should England lose ground to Montenegro - who they face away from home in the final qualifier on October 7 - Capello's grip on his position will again be weakened.
The home draw with Montenegro and one-sided friendly defeat to France last Autumn provided a reminder of England's weaknesses but their form in three games since the turn of the year has been promising and they should not lack confidence going into the game having already beaten the Swiss 3-1 in Basel last September.
Wayne Rooney's suspension hasn't helped England's cause but replacement Darren Bent has impressed recently, scoring on each of his last three international appearances and, supported by Ashley Young and Frank Lampard, should ensure England have enough firepower to claim three points against a Switzerland side who lie third in the group, six points adrift of the top two.
Form Guide: England were assured in winning 2-1 in Denmark in February, dominated Wales in Cardiff much more than the 2-0 scoreline suggests, and performed well in the 1-1 home draw with Ghana last time out. Switzerland lost their opening two group games to England and Montenegro but have since beaten Wales and drawn with Bulgaria.
Key Match-up: Darren Bent v Johan Djourou: Bent has grown as an international player in his last three outings and will face the Swiss full of confidence. Djourou had a fine season for Arsenal but will have to be at his best to keep the Aston Villa striker quiet.
Odds: England 4/11, Switzerland 8/1, draw 7/2
ENGLAND:
Capello's management was again questioned when he failed to speak to Rio Ferdinand before going public with his decision to return the Manchester United defender to the ranks and restore John Terry as captain in March.
Ferdinand is back in the squad for the first time and the Italian insists there are no hard feelings having finally addressed the issue with the player this week.
"I spoke especially with him on Tuesday in the evening. I told him what really happened when I decided to make the decision to give the armband to John Terry," Capello told a media briefing ahead of the game.
"He told me what he thought in this period and at the end we shook hands and the relationship is fantastic. The relationship is perfect. We spoke personally and privately."
Terry backed up his manager, insisting there was no problem within the dressing room. "I made contact with Rio when it was given back to me and there are no problems between us at all as there wasn't before when he got the armband," said the Chelsea centre back.
"We fully support each other and he has got an awful lot to give in the dressing room along with Frank Lampard and Joe Hart and Scott Parker and players like that. That is more than welcomed by me, that everyone has their say and input."
Capello, meanwhile, claims he has learned his lesson from the miserable experience in South Africa when he oversaw a strictly run camp of exhausted players. Some of the squad have already been on holiday, returning for this game and the coach insists there will be a two-week break ahead of next summer's finals in Poland and Ukraine, provided England qualify.
"If we play the Euros they will go to holiday and after we will start preparations for the Euros," he said. "I learned a lot at the World Cup, I learned the players are rather tired at the end of the season and you don't need a lot of games before the first game of a tournament.
"I think being on holiday is good, they recover their focus, their mind energy. It is really important when you have to stay focused for a long time.
"They will have a minimum of 10 days or two weeks on holidays. Yes, I trust them to be good, why not?"
Bent is one player Capello expects to still be sharp after a long campaign and is confident the player will continue his belated emergence as an international player at the age of 27.
"I know him very well, in the box when he sees the ball he scores goals, I hope on Saturday he will do the same," said the Italian.
"In my career as a manager, some players were not so good when they were 20, 21, 22. But after they improved.
"Sometimes it's important which team you play in, and the relationship with the manager, the private life. It's impossible to know the future. It's important for us that Bent has improved a lot and he is scoring a lot of goals."
Strategy: Capello has stumbled onto a 4-3-3 formation that suits the players at his disposal and on this occasion Bent will lead the attack, flanked by Ashley Young and possibly Stewart Downing. Scott Parker will play the anchor role in midfield allowing Lampard and Jack Wilshere to press forward and the pace and movement of the front five should create enough chances to ensure victory.
Injury Update: Michael Carrick has withdrawn from the squad after picking up a knock in the Champions League final while striker Jermain Defoe is out with a wrist injury. Peter Crouch and Bobby Zamora have recovered from minor injuries and are fit to play.
SWITZERLAND:
Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has come in for growing criticism following a poor start to the campaign and with experienced forwards Alex Frei and Marco Streller having retired from international football, the team is in a state of transition. The experienced Hakan Yakin has been dropped leaving Bayer Leverkusen's Eren Derdiyok as the only capped striker in the squad.
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