Switzerland Draw First Blood But Are Eventually “Kane-d” Again By England In High-Octane Encounter.
Borussia Mönchengladbach and Switzerland’s striker Breel Embolo was on hand to nod home a delicious cross from Xerdan Shaqiri as a full-strength Swiss team went on an all-out assault against England in their high-profile international friendly at Wembley Stadium, London, UK, today, March 26, 2022.
There was all to play for even though both teams have already qualified for the World Cup Finals holding later this year in Qatar, and it was evident right from the blast of the whistle.
Following the thrilling match, here are a few of the talking points we observed from the game below.
(1) This was not friendly for the Swiss at all! From the full-strength squad that filled out at Wembley to the manner, passion, and hunger with which they went after every ball and won it.
Before tonight, Switzerland had never beaten England before in any match (competitive or friendly), and it was evident that they were tired of that unwanted record with the way they flew out the blocks.
Unsurprisingly for us, though, they took the lead against the run of play in the 22nd minute of the first half. However, sadly for them, they couldn’t hold on to the lead as they eventually fell to a Harry Kane penalty kick for England in the 78th minute of the match.
(2) England’s first shot on target came on the 40th-minute mark. Such was the lackluster performance the Three Lions started within the match; the day looked like it would eventually belong to the Swiss men.
Their wasteful and showboating approach in the opponent’s half restricted them to half chances and snapshots that kept flying off target. The tide did turn for them after that first shot on target, though, as Manchester United’s Luke Shaw restored parity for the hosts with a fierce left-footed drive from the edge of the 18-yard box after receiving a pass from Conor Gallagher in the 46th minute of the first half.
His goal gave England some much-needed respite before the break, and it somehow set the tone for England to eventually go on and win the match later.
(3) England won the match from the bench with inspired substitutions: The first half saw the Three Lions dominated in the midfield by the Swiss side, but all that soon changed as Gareth Southgate began to ring some changes to his personnel.
The home side began to pull the strings and peg back the opposition into their half with their first set of substitutions in the 61st minute of the match. Declan Rice slotted into midfield for Conor Gallagher, while T. Mitchell, Raheem Sterling, and Jack Grealish also came on to help rescue the advantage from the Swiss.
Sterling and Grealish were particularly very enterprising, as was Rice, who wrestled back control of the midfield for England.
(4) Switzerland had been unbeaten in all competitions since the last European Championships. This run had seen them go undefeated in 8 straight international matches. They had also not conceded a goal in the second half of all these matches, but that run ended tonight at Wembley.
The goalscorer against them for England, Kane, netted for the 49th time in an England shirt and made history with his well-taken penalty kick. Kane moves level with another Manchester United legend, Sir. Bobby Charlton is the second most prolific goal scorer in English football history.
