England manager Gareth Southgate has admitted that his side were not at their best during the first half of their international friendly with Switzerland this evening.
The visitors saw the majority of the ball and enjoyed the better chances during the opening 45 minutes at Leicester City's King Power Stadium, but England improved during the second half.
Marcus Rashford's 54th-minute strike ultimately proved to be the difference on the night, and Southgate was pleased with the result in the end.
"There was a consequence of a lot of different things, we had a tactical problem to sort out and so many lads playing their first 45 minutes of the season. It was a tall order to ask them to play against an excellent Switzerland side, they kept the ball well and we had to chase too much. There was plenty of room for improvement," he told Sky Sports News.
"We did not get hold of their pivot, Granit Xhaka was always available and Xherdan Shaqiri was dropping in to problem areas. We altered the shape in the second half, got the defence higher up and kept the ball better.
"The players were trying to sort things out for themselves before I got into changing room at half time and we had to correct things and challenge them. It was an important night to finish well. We knew it would be difficult, the players have given everything this week. Two tough tests and in the end a good result tonight. We arguably deserved a draw against Spain on Saturday.
"We encourage and expect that, it is important the players have a view, they are intelligent footballers. We have a demanding environment."
England are not in action again until October, when they face their World Cup conquerors Croatia.
Barney Corkhill
