The second day of UEFA Euro 2024 quarter-finals brings us what many people perceive as the “easier side” of the draw.
In the first match of the day, under-fire England take on a Switzerland side brimming with confidence in Düsseldorf, while the final last-eight fixture brings us a resurgent Netherlands side taking on a united and resilient Türkiye side in Berlin.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at what the second set of quarter-finals has in store for us.
England’s journey through the group stage was anything but smooth. Despite finishing top of Group C, their performances left much to be desired, and they have arguably been one of the biggest underperformers in the tournament so far.
So, when they narrowly avoided an embarrassing defeat in their Round of 16 clash against Slovakia, it did little to assuage concerns. Gareth Southgate made only one change to his starting XI, sticking rigidly to his initial game plan despite the team’s struggles. The lack of timely substitutions only added fuel to the fire, further alienating fans who have grown increasingly frustrated with Southgate’s timid approach.
In stark contrast, Switzerland have had a rather successful tournament so far by their own standards and expectations. Finishing second in Group A with five points, and having emerged as one of the more impressive teams this Euros, the current generation of Swiss players have consistently maximised their talent, and their performances this time round have been nothing short of a testament to their collective effectiveness.
Despite being considered underdogs for this game, the Swiss will be quietly confident of their chances. The prospect of reaching the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time in their history is a significant motivator, and their current form suggests they have the capability to achieve this milestone.
When it comes to historical match-ups between these two teams, England have been the dominant side. They have won all of the last five meetings against Switzerland, who have managed just the one victory against the Three Lions (a 2-1 win in a World Cup qualifier back in 1981). Although such a damning record will give England a psychological edge, it also places additional pressure on them to maintain their winning streak against a side brimming with confidence.
England will be without the services of one of their better performers in this tournament: Marc Guéhi, who is unavailable through suspension after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament against Slovakia, and Kieran Trippier, who is a doubt after leaving the pitch injured in their last game.
Luke Shaw is fit but probably not fit enough to start, so Joe Gomez seems like the logical choice to step in. There is, however, the possibility of Ezri Konsa starting at left back, with Lewis Dunk filling in for Guéhi next to John Stones.
The Swiss, on the other hand, will have Silvan Widmer available for selection once again after he served his one-match suspension in the Round of 16 against Italy. That will likely be the only change to the Switzerland XI.
England
Form (all competitions, most recent first): W-D-D-W-L
Most recent result: England 2-1 Slovakia, Euro 2024 Round of 16
European Qualifying: Finished top of Group C with 20 points
Switzerland
Form (all competitions, most recent first): W-D-D-W-D
Most recent result: Switzerland 2-0 Italy, Euro 2024 Round of 16
European Qualifying: Finished 2nd in Group I with 17 points
England will have their work cut out and have to put in an improved showing if they are to overcome the Swiss here. However, the English are still a good defensive unit and not easy to beat even at their worst.
England also boast a very good record against Switzerland, and while I expect them to spend a significant portion of the game under the cosh, I think they’ll have enough to get the job done.
England 1-1 Switzerland (England win on penalties)
Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford
Defenders: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Fabian Schär, Manuel Akanji
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Granit Xhaka, Declan Rice, Remo Freuler
Forwards: Harry Kane, Ruben Vargas
Captain: Harry Kane
Vice-captain: Ruben Vargas
Also watch: UEFA Euro 2024 Quarter-finals preview
The final clash in the quarter-final stage of this Euros will take place in Berlin on Saturday. Türkiye and the Netherlands will collide in the German capital, with the victors progressing to a semi-final showdown with either Switzerland or England next week.
The Dutch were written off by many after ending their group stage with a bitter taste, having finished third, but they now look reignited following a dominant showing against Romania in the Round of 16. They had so many chances throughout the game that the final 3-0 score line rather flatters their opposition. Donyell Malen added the gloss to the win after netting a brace in the final ten minutes, while Cody Gakpo gave the Oranje the lead with a first-half strike. The win marked the first time since 2004 that the Dutch have progressed in the knockout stages at the Euros in normal time.
Türkiye, on the other hand, set up their clash after seeing off a deserved 2-1 win over Austria. The Turks were the outsiders to progress through to the next round, but they upstaged a dominant Austria side with a Merih Demiral goal from a corner to open the scoring inside the first minute before the defender added a second just before the hour mark from another set piece to give his side an unassailable lead. Although Ralf Rangnick’s team pulled one back late on, Türkiye successfully defended for their lives in the final half hour. The match-winning moment came in the fourth minute of injury time as Mert Günok produced one of the greatest saves in Euro history.
Looking at historical match-ups, the Netherlands have suffered defeats in two of the last three matches against Türkiye and recorded just one victory in the last four. However, their only success came in the most recent clash between the two sides in 2021.
Ronald Koeman rolled the dice by giving a start to Steven Bergwijn against Romania. However, with little impact, he was hooked at half time in favour of Malen, who went on to score twice and is thus likely to get the nod against Türkiye on Saturday.
That is likely to be the only change for the Dutch, with no players suspended and the team otherwise settled with no injury concerns.
The Turks, however, had no fewer than eight players running the risk of suspensions in their Round of 16 game after a thoroughly ill-tempered final group game against the Czechia, with midfielders Orkun Kökçü, who limped off injured late on, and Ismail Yüksek both picking up second cautions of the tournament to rule them out for this weekend’s game.
Skipper Hakan Çalhanoglu will come back in at the expense of Kökçü, though a replacement will be needed for Yüksek, with Borussia Dortmund’s Salih Özcan likely to be recalled to partner Kaan Ayhan in midfield.
Netherlands
Form (all competitions, most recent first): W-L-D-W-W
Most recent result: Romania 0-3 Netherlands, Euro 2024 Round of 16
European Qualifying: Finished 2nd in Group B, with 18 points.
Türkiye
Form (all competitions, most recent first): W-W-L-W-L
Most recent result: Austria 1-2 Türkiye, Euro 2024 Round of 16
European Qualifying: Finished 1st in Group D with 17 points
Türkiye showed excellent character in their Round of 16 tie against Austria, defending brilliantly in the final half an hour to progress to the quarter-finals. There’s every chance we could see them giving the Dutch major headaches on Saturday, and I won’t be surprised to see them progress given the latter’s inconsistency throughout the Euros.
However, taking this fixture on face value, the Netherlands should have more than enough to overcome the Türkiye this weekend.
Netherlands 2-1 Türkiye
Goalkeeper: Bart Verbruggen
Defenders: Denzel Dumfries, Nathan Aké, Ferdi Kadioglu, Mert Müldür
Midfielders: Hakan Çalhanoglu, Arda Güler, Donyell Malen, Xavi Simons
Forwards: Kenan Yildiz, Cody Gakpo
Captain: Cody Gakpo
Vice-captain: Arda Güler
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