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England national football team
European Under-21s Championship | Qualifiers
Nov 16, 2015 at 5.45pm UK
 
Switzerland national football team

3-1

Ward-Prowse (82' pen.), Watmore (85'), Akpom (91')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Tarashaj (45')

Preview: England Under-21s vs. Switzerland Under-21s

Sports Mole previews Monday's U21 Euro 2017 qualifier between England and Switzerland, who are currently both locked on seven points apiece in Group 9.

Having dropped their first qualifying points in two years when being held by Bosnia-Herzegovina last time out, England Under-21s now have the chance to make a quick response.

Switzerland Under-21s are the visitors to Brighton's Amex Stadium on Monday evening, looking to build on what has been a solid start to their own U21 Euro 2017 qualification campaign.


England Under-21s

Head coach of England Gareth Southgate is seen before the international friendly match between U21 Czech Republic and U21 England at Letna Stadium on March 27, 2015© Getty Images

The message from Gareth Southgate to his players after Thursday's underwhelming stalemate in Sarajevo was to reflect on the contest as a point well earned, rather than two dropped in Group 9.

Not since drawing against Finland in 2013 had England failed to pick up maximum points in a qualifying fixture, blemishing what has otherwise been a perfect run of results under Southgate's watch.

A perfect run in terms of those pre-tournament fixtures, at least, because yet again this summer England fell well short when it really mattered in the finals of a major competition.

Defeats to their Portuguese and Italian counterparts ensured that the Young Lions crashed out of Euro 2015 at the group stage, just like they did in the two tournaments prior.

The latest disaster signalled the start of a new era at this lower age level, as Southgate went about bringing through some more new faces ahead of another gruelling two-year campaign which will culminate with 2017's finals in Poland.

After seeing off the likes of the United States (U23s), Noway and Kazakhstan in their three games since the revamp, things were certainly looking up.

The latter two of those triumphs had come in qualifying, too, meaning that England were looking more than healthy heading into their meeting against a Bosnia side who hardly boast the greatest of records.

On the back of what was ultimately a disappointing afternoon, capped by a red card shown to Jack Stephens, the Young Lions now head into their latest match level on points with two other sides in Group 9 - Switzerland and Norway.

That makes this double header against the Swiss all the more important, with England knowing that their participation in the finals is far from secure at this stage.

Recent form: WLWWWD


Switzerland Under-21s

General view of the Amex Stadium prior to the npower Championship Play Off Semi Final Second Leg between Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace at Amex Stadium on May 13, 2013© Getty Images

It is fairly difficult to measure Switzerland's level of success at Under-21s level over the past decade or so when taking their hit-and-miss record fully into account.

Having reached the final of the 2011 Euros, losing out 2-0 to a highly talented Spain team, La Nati failed to even qualify for the latest edition of the tournament after finishing behind Croatia and Ukraine.

In fact, you have to go back to 2004 to find the last time Switzerland reached another competition finals, showing that, while they do indeed have the capability to make waves on the big stage, their talent production line is somewhat unpredictable.

Take the 2011 losing finalists, for example, which boasted the likes of Yann Sommer, Fabian Frei, Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka and Admir Mehmedi - all of whom currently ply their trade in one of European football's big five leagues.

If their positive start to this latest campaign is anything to go by, with seven points taken from the first nine on offer, then the potential is certainly there to replicate that past achievement.

England will provide a step up in quality from Kazakhstan and Bosnia, though - the two sides Switzerland have so far picked up victories against on the road to Poland.

That is enough to keep them afloat of Norway, having also played one game fewer than Group 9's third-placed side, but all attention now is on aiming to restrict England and potentially bolster their tally ahead of the final set of fixtures next year.

Five games without defeat underlines that the visitors should not be written off entirely, as Pierluigi Tami prepares his side for what on paper will be a daunting trip to the English South Coast.

Recent form: WDDWWD


Team News

Chuba Akpom of England celebrates his goal with Duncan Watmore during the European Under 21 Qualifier match between England U21 and Kazakhstan U21 at Ricoh Arena on October 13, 2015© Getty Images

England are still without Dele Alli and Eric Dier for Monday evening's game, with Roy Hodgson calling the young duo up to the senior squad, while Jordon Ibe and Tyias Browning were also notable absentees in Bosnia.

There should be some local interest, meanwhile, as Brighton & Hove Albion players Jake Forster-Caskey, Solly March and Christian Walton are all among the squad.

Dominic Solanke was handed his U21s bow last time out and is in contention to feature up top once more alongside Chuba Akpom.

Stephens will be absent as a result of his ban, however, which could mean a place in the heart of defence for Browning - if he can shake off his injury problem.

Should Southgate opt to change things around slightly, Duncan Watmore and Demarai Gray offer a different option in attack to potentially get the best out of Solanke on the back of the Sarajevo stalemate.

England Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Iorfa, Chambers, Browning, Targett; Ward-Prowse, Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek, Baker; Watmore, Solanke

Switzerland Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Mvogo, Gulen, Angha, Hadergjonaj, Garcia, Gelmi, Bertone, Rodriguez, Zakaria, Tarashaj, Tabakovic


Head To Head

These two sides have met on just one previous occasion, coming in a 3-2 win for England in September 2006.

That victory, secured late on by James Milner, booked the Young Lions' place in the qualifying round for the following year's final.

Theo Walcott, David Nugent and Scott Carson were also among the England starters that day, but the teams have not met since.


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We say: England U21s 3-1 Switzerland U21s

England do not drop points all that often when it comes to qualifying so, after seeing his side's hopes of a perfect record slip away in Sarajevo on Friday night, Southgate will be looking for a quick response from his players at The Amex.



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James Ward-Prowse of England during the International friendly match between England U21 and USA U23 at Deepdale on September 3, 2015 in Preston, England
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