Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's international friendly between England and
Switzerland at Leicester City's King Power Stadium!
For all of the feel-good factor which continues to linger after this summer's World Cup, England are on the verge of a very unwanted piece of history tonight and only a win or a draw against a Swiss side ranked only two places below them will prevent that.
It promises to be an intriguing affair at the King Power, so let's waste no time in getting started with a look at the team news...
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Butland; Walker, Tarkowski, Maguire; Dier; Alexander-Arnold, Loftus-Cheek, Delph, Rose; Welbeck, Rashford
ENGLAND SUBS: Trippier, Pickford, Chilwell, Stones, Gomez, Henderson, Lingard, Kane, Gray, McCarthy, Bettinelli
SWITZERLAND STARTING XI: Sommer; Lichtsteiner, Schar, Djourou, Akanji; Rodriguez, Freuler, Xhaka, Zakaria, Shaqiri; Gavranovic
SWITZERLAND SUBS: Fernandes, Mehmedi, Kobel, Mvogo, Embolo, Ajeti, Zuber, Sow, Moubandje, Mbabu, Klose, Seferovic
What can we make of those two teams, then?
Well, as expected Gareth Southgate has rung the changes for England, with many of the starting XI from Saturday's showdown with Spain being rested for today's match.
Indeed, Harry Maguire and goalscorer Marcus Rashford are the only two players to retain their starting places from the weekend, with Southgate making nine changes in all tonight.
Captain Harry Kane - who has started a whopping 61 matches for club and country since the start of last season - is among those to be rested for England today, alongside the injured Alli and rested Trippier, who between them have scored eight of England's last 13 goals.
Eric Dier and Danny Rose do continue the Spurs representation today, though, with Dier playing in the pivot and Rose on the left.
There could be debuts for a few England players today, with uncapped quartet Ben Chilwell, Demarai Gray, Alex McCarthy and Marcus Bettinelli all among the subs, with the former two having been called up in place of injured duo Alli and Luke Shaw.
Tonight's match takes place at their home club stadium too, with Maguire is also very familiar with the King Power ahead of tonight's match.
The likes of Tarkowski, Alexander-Arnold and Loftus-Cheek are all still fairly inexperienced at this level so tonight will be valuable time for them on the international scene, while for Welbeck in particular it is another chance to show exactly what he can do.
Only Kane in the whole squad has scored more international goals than Welbeck, but his career has been so stop-start that he has struggled to put together a sustained run in the team.
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As for Switzerland, it looks as thought they could match England's formation with three at the back, which would see Arsenal's Stephan Lichtsteiner play as a right wing-back.
Lichtsteiner is the most experienced player on the pitch tonight with 103 international appearances to his name and will be looking to use that to his advantage against a youthful England side.
Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri is not a million miles behind in the experience stakes, and he will be the main man to watch for England this evening as he looks to add to his tally of 22 international goals - more than any other player from either squad.
The diminutive attacker has struggled to force his way into the Liverpool starting lineup so far this season, but he did score and register two assists during Saturday's 6-0 drubbing of Iceland.
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In all there are four Premier League players in this Switzerland squad, and all of them start tonight with Newcastle's Fabian Schar and Arsenal's Xherdan Shaqiri joining Lichtsteiner and Shaqiri in the XI.
With former Gunner Johan Djourou also in the ranks - and Norwich's Timm Klose and West Ham loanee Edimilson Fernandes on the bench - there are plenty of familiar faces for the England players to come up against this evening.
Yann Sommer once again starts in goal, which means that Yvon Mvogo and Gregor Kobel are once again forced to wait for their international debuts, while Ajeti must also wait for his first start despite scoring just six minutes after coming on in his debut on Saturday.
Vladimir Petkovic makes just four changes in all from the side that thrashed Iceland, with Lichtsteiner, Djourou, Freuler and Gavranovic coming into the team.
This may be only a friendly for England tonight, but it will also still be an important match in terms of extended the feel-good factor from the summer beyond the first international break since the World Cup.
There was international football fever in England during the World Cup - something which hasn't been the case for a long time, certainly not to the same extent - but a defeat to Switzerland could see them come crashing back down to earth with a bang tonight.
Indeed, it could have a much more long-lasting impact than that as England are one defeat away from losing four successive games for the first time in their history - and remember that their history spans back as far as international football itself.
For all of their success at the World Cup, England come into this game having lost their last three outings - against Croatia in the semi-final, Belgium in the third-placed playoff and then Spain on Saturday.
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Gareth Southgate has been quick to play down the significance of that run - pointing out the level of opponents they have faced in that time - but there is no doubt that it would be a significant reality check if that was to happen tonight.
It is hard to imagine the euphoria of a best World Cup showing since 1990 giving way to England's worst run ever within such a short space of time, but that could be the fate which faces them tonight.
England have actually now lost four of their last six outings across all competitions and have only won one of those in normal time, needing penalties to get past Colombia in the last 16 of the World Cup (although we won't be complaining about that!).
The Three Lions were unbeaten in 12 matches before that - including nine wins - so if winning is a habit then it is one Southgate will be desperate to return to sooner rather than later - even if tonight is only a friendly.
England have lost just one of their last 15 home games across all competitions - a run which stretches back to March 2016 - but that solitary defeat came just three days ago when Spain came from behind to run out 2-1 winners at Wembley.
That defeat - courtesy of goals from Saul and Rodrigo after Rashford's opener - means that another defeat tonight would condemn England to back-to-back losses on home soil for the first time since November 2013.
The Three Lions do have a formidable record when travelling around the country, though, losing only one of their last 19 home internationals played at venues other than Wembley.
Spain - who ran out 1-0 winners at Old Trafford in 2007 en route to total international football domination - are the only team to have beaten England on English soil away from Wembley in that time, with the Three Lions winning 15 of those 19 games too.
Gareth Southgate's side come into this match unbeaten in their last six friendly outings stretching back to June 2017, conceding only two goals in that time en route to three wins and three draws.
At home, England have not lost a friendly match since March 2016, which is an ongoing nine-match streak including five wins and four draws.
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Switzerland also have a decent record in friendlies, though, and they come into this match on a six-game unbeaten streak in non-competitive fixtures too.
However, while England's run consists of three wins and three draws, Switzerland's has seen them win five games and draw one stretching back to May 2016. Like England, they have also conceded just twice in their last six friendlies, but they have also scored 13 goals in that time.
All of Switzerland's wins in that time have come against team they have been expected to beat, though; Moldova, Belarus, Greece, Panama and Japan have all been beaten.
The one draw in that time was an impressive one, though, as they played out a stalemate with Spain in Villarreal during the buildup to this summer's World Cup.
Switzerland made it as far as the last 16 at the World Cup before being beaten by Sweden, who were subsequently eliminated by England in the very next round, so these two sides were not far away from facing each other in Russia.
It was a fairly disappointing showing for Switzerland based on their FIFA ranking, although they did manage a draw with Brazil in their opening game before beating Serbia and drawing with Costa Rica to end the group stages unbeaten.
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Switzerland subsequently dropped two places in the latest FIFA rankings, with their sixth place being taken by tonight's opponents as they fell to eighth.
However, Petkovic's side - who have been a top-10 ranked team for quite a while now - are still above the likes of Spain, Argentina, Germany, Netherlands and Italy in the FIFA list, so anyone expecting an easy match for England tonight could be due for an unwelcome surprise.
Indeed, as England were losing their UEFA Nations League opener against Spain on Saturday, Switzerland were making an emphatic start to theirs with a 6-0 thrashing of Iceland.
Petkovic's side have six different players on the scoresheet as they swept aside a team that have really impressed in recent years, reaching two successive major tournaments. The Swiss are now looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since March.
The win over Iceland means that the last-16 defeat to Sweden at the World Cup is their only loss in their last 11 outings across all competitions, winning six of those and drawing four.
Indeed, Switzerland's good run of form stretches further back than that, with two defeats in 22 matches stretching all the way back to their elimination from Euro 2016 - including nine wins from 10 during World Cup qualifying.
Switzerland have also only lost one of their last eight away games across all competitions, with that defeat coming in Portugal and condemning them to a playoff qualifier for the World Cup.
It is an away run which stretches back to March 2016, although they have also only won two of their last eight away friendly games - the most recent of which was that draw with Spain in Villarreal in June.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the King Power Stadium, which means that it is time for a prediction!
England's raft of changes make this one slightly more difficult to call, but I cannot see the hosts falling to a fourth successive defeat so soon after the World Cup hype. It will be a close one, though, so I am going for a score draw.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: England 1-1 Switzerland
This is only the second time that Leicester has hosted an England international, with the previous occasion seeing Sven-Goran Eriksson's side run out 2-1 winners over Serbia and Montenegro in June 2003.
This will be the 25th time that England have met Switzerland, meanwhile, and the Three Lions boast a very good record against tonight's opponents with 16 victories and only three defeats from the previous 24 clashes.
Indeed, Switzerland have only won one of their last 21 meetings with England - back in 1981 - and have never beaten the Three Lions on English soil with six defeats and four draws from their 10 such matches.
Tonight's visitors have only kept two clean sheets in the previous 24 matches between these two sides as well - in May 1947 and September 1977.
The most recent contest between these two sides came in September 2015 for a Euro 2016 qualifier, and it was an historic occasion for England as Wayne Rooney scored his 50th international goal to overtake Sir Bobby Charlton as his country's all-time leading goalscorer - adding to Harry Kane's earlier opener.
The last time these two sides met in a friendly was over 10 years ago, meanwhile, with Fabio Capello's England won 2-1 in February 2008 courtesy of goals from Jermaine Jenas and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Right, the players are out - complete with black and white TV coverage for the opening 25 seconds to mark the 25th anniversary of Kick It Out - so let's have a quick reminder of the team news before we get started...
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Butland; Walker, Tarkowski, Maguire; Dier; Alexander-Arnold, Loftus-Cheek, Delph, Rose; Welbeck, Rashford
SWITZERLAND STARTING XI: Sommer; Lichtsteiner, Schar, Djourou, Akanji; Rodriguez, Freuler, Xhaka, Zakaria, Shaqiri; Gavranovic
KICKOFF: Here we go, then! England get us underway at the King Power Stadium!
There is a great atmosphere inside the King Power Stadium from the very first whistle - the crowd are continuing the World Cup party, serenading Gareth Southgate and giving a particularly big cheer to Leicester's Harry Maguire.
The hosts make their first promising break forward as Rose reaches the byline down the left channel, but his cutback is hacked away.
CHANCE! The resulting corner is swung in by Rose and Welbeck darts across the front post, but he mistimes his header and cannot get anywhere near enough on it.
OFF THE POST! Huge chance for Switzerland to take an early lead, and it is all of England's own making. Seconds earlier Butland fluffed from a pass out which almost gifted Shaqiri a chances, and this time his pass to Tarkowski is overhit. Tarkowski still takes far too long on the ball, though, and he is robbed of it. That sends Shaqiri clean through on goal, but his low strike comes off the bottom of the post and goes behind.
That piece of shaky England defending has just given Switzerland a foothold in this game and they are now beginning to settle.
UPDATE: There is a match taking place in England's UEFA Nations League group tonight, and Spain have just taken the lead against Croatia through Saul.
Good spell of possession for Switzerland here as they knock the ball about amongst themselves in and around the halfway line. England aren't pressing the ball too much, but they have just let Switzerland get into this game now.
UPDATE: Switzerland's Nations League opponents are also in action, with Belgium taking the lead through an Eden Hazard penalty.
Good play from Rashford as he turns his man on the halfway line and then looks to drive down the left flank before eventually being tugged back and winning a free kick.
CHANCE! Alexander-Arnold whips his free kick into the box and Dier is completely unmarked in the box, but the ball arrives at an awkward height and his stooping header goes wide of the target.
UPDATE: Belgium have scored twice in as many minutes against Iceland, with Romelu Lukaku joining Hazard on the scoresheet. Iceland could be in line for another mauling if this continues!
SHOT! Switzerland have seen the majority of the ball in this opening 20 minutes and here they have their first shot on goal, but Schar's effort is never troubling Butland.
UPDATE: Spain have doubled their advantage against England's World Cup conquerors Croatia through a fine strike from Marco Asensio.
UPDATE: ...make that 3-0 to Spain, with Lovre Kalinic scoring an own goal within two minutes of Asensio's strike.
Meanwhile, England have a free kick in a very good crossing position...
The initial free kick is dealt with, but England keep the pressure on and win another free kick moments later in a more central position. It is a long way out, but just about within shooting distance.
SHOT! Rashford pulls rank above Alexander-Arnold and goes for goal from the free kick, but he fires his effort off target.
YELLOW CARD! The first card of the night is shown to Lichtsteiner for a foul on Rose after England had pounced on the visitors trying to play out from the back.
SAVE! This time Alexander-Arnold does get the free kick duties, but his effort is straight at the keeper and Sommer gathers it comfortably.
One ball through opens up the entire England defence here as Gavranovic darts in behind - although the initial pass may not have been intended for him. However, the Swiss striker doesn't go for goal himself and his cutback is intercepted.
CHANCE! Gavranovic gets in behind the England defence once again, bundling past Walker and Tarkowski on his way into the box. That leaves him with only the keeper to beat, but the angle is against him and Butland saves at the near post.
CHANCE! More work for Butland to do here as Rodriguez beats Welbeck far too easily on the left flank before cutting inside and drilling a low strike towards goal which Butland saves with his feet.
Just over 10 minutes remaining in this first half now, and Gareth Southgate will not be particularly pleased with what he has seen. Switzerland have been the better team in this one so far.
CLOSE! Rodriguez tires to steer a first-time cross into the box, but it turns into more of a shot and rolls narrowly past the far post with Butland scrambling.
Switzerland keep the pressure on as Lichtsteiner reaches the byline and does well to dig a cross out to Rodriguez at the back post. He takes it down on his chest, but is put off by Alexander-Arnold and a decent opening goes begging.
SAVE! More like it from England as a long ball upfield sparks a counter-attack which ends with Rose meeting a low cross from the right flank. The angle is against him and his shot is palmed away by Sommer, who is needed again shortly afterwards to collect the ball off the toes of Welbeck.
England made the brighter start in the very opening minutes of this first half, but since that Butland scare Switzerland have been on top. The visitors have done a really good job of keeping hold of the ball and quietening down this Leicester crowd.
I would not be surprised to see a few changes from Southgate at half time as his side just aren't at the races so far. Credit must go to Switzerland for that, but England have been far from their best.
SAVE! England do create a sight of goal here, but Sommer makes a comfortable save to deny Loftus-Cheek's deflected effort.
SHOT! Zakaria now tries his luck from range at the other end, but his shot flies a long way over the crossbar.
HALF TIME: ENGLAND 0-0 SWITZERLAND
The first half comes to an end at the King Power Stadium, and it is Switzerland who will be the happier of the two teams at the interval.
The visitors have been sharper on and off the ball, dominating possession and controlling the game, and the only thing missing for Vladimir Petkovic's side so far has been a goal.
England actually started the match quite brightly, with Welbeck failing to make the most of one early chance, but a mistake from Butland soon handed Switzerland a route back into the match.
Butland has since been forced into saves from Gavranovic and Rodriguez, while Shaqiri has also hit the post in three of the standout chances for the visitors.
England have registered more shots than Switzerland in this one so far, but their threat has been minimal, with wing-back Danny Rose probably their standout player from the opening 45 minutes.
The Spurs full-back has drawn one save from Sommer, who has also denied Loftus-Cheek and Alexander-Arnold, but they have all been pretty routine stops.
As is the custom with friendlies, there will be plenty of changes in this second half for both teams, and I would not be surprised to see Southgate make his sooner rather than later if nothing improves in this second half.
KICKOFF: Switzerland get us back underway for the second half, and they have made two changes at the break with Admir Mehmedi and Francois Moubandje replacing Akanji and Rodriguez.
UPDATE: England and Croatia will do well to catch Spain in this Nations League group - La Roja are now 5-0 up against the World Cup runners-up, with Rodrigo and Sergio Ramos adding to the score since half time.
Rose gets down the left flank and clips a cross into the middle which Rashford tries to take down with his back to goal. He then tries to fire off an inventive volley on the turn, but he can't squeeze it on target.
The noise has been relentless in the opening stages of this second half - as it was in the opening stages of the first - but Switzerland did a great job of silencing that in the opening 45 minutes. Can they do the same in the second?
GOAL! ENGLAND 1-0 SWITZERLAND (MARCUS RASHFORD)
GOAL! England have the opener, having been on the back foot for the vast majority of the first half!
An initial corner from Rose is overhit by a long way, but Walker collects it and delivers a brilliant cross of his own into the box. Rashford is left unmarked at the back post and meets it with a cushioned volley which sees him fire the ball past the keeper from close range.
Rashford made that finish look far easier than it was. He always looked in control of the volley, but it came a long way and it would have been easy to get that wrong.
Rose hoofs the ball forward which almost releases Rashford, but even the pace of the England man is enough to panic the Switzerland defence. Welbeck almost capitalises on that panic, but he is unfortunate to see the ball bounce up against his arm.
UPDATE: It is turning into an incredible night for Spain, with Isco making it 6-0 against Croatia, who are on course for their heaviest defeat ever.
ENGLAND SUBS: The hour mark signals a cluster of England changes as Jesse Lingard, John Stones and Harry Kane replace Welbeck, Tarkowski and Loftus-Cheek.
CHANCE! A brilliant intervention from Stones moments after coming on as he throws himself in the way of Shaqiri when the Liverpool man looked certain to score! He picked the ball up in a dangerous area inside the box, but had to wait for it to drop and Stones made the block.
Stones was just caught by the training foot of Shaqiri there and will need to go off for a but of treatment.
SWITZERLAND SUBS: Triple change for the visitors as Zakaria, Gavranovic and Freuler are replaced by Fernandes, Ajeti and Zuber.
ENGLAND SUBS: Another change for the hosts sees Jordan Henderson replace Delph.
We have 20 minutes remaining in this match and it is still this Rashford goal which separates the two sides...
SHOT! Decent chance for Dier as Rose pulls the ball back for Rashford, who misses it on the edge of the box. The ball rolls back to Dier, but he leans back and skies it over the bar with his weaker foot.
This is better from England now, with the subs having increased the tempo. The hosts have been much better in the second half than they were in the first, but they have stepped things up again since the changes.
Just over 15 minutes remaining in this match now and as things stand it is England who look the most likely to add to the scoring here. Switzerland will be kicking themselves for not making the most of their time on top in the first half.
Stones is almost caught in possession with Butland out of goal and the defender inside his own box - a risk he just about gets away with. There have been too many of them tonight, though.
ENGLAND SUBS: The biggest cheer of the night greets Ben Chilwell as the Leicester man makes his debut for England. Kieran Trippier also comes on, with Alexander-Arnold and Rose departing.
Schar drives forward upfield to spark an attack which sees Mehmedi play a low ball into the box which goes agonisingly across the face of goal. He was offside, though, so it would not have counted.
SWITZERLAND SUB: Haris Seferovic replaces Shaqiri for the visitors.
UPDATE: The Nations League matches are now all over, and Spain have indeed inflicted a heaviest ever defeat on Croatia by winning 6-0 against the World Cup finalists. Elsewhere, Belgium have beaten Iceland 3-0.
Switzerland are seeing more of the ball again in the closing stages of this second half as they push for an equaliser late on. It is all about game management for the hosts now.
Mehmedi almost finds himself with space just outside the area, but once again Stones is out there in the blink of an eye to block the subsequent effort.
YELLOW CARD! Henderson picks up a late yellow card for a cynical tug to stop a counter.
CHANCE! Half a chance for Ajeti as he takes advantage of some hesitation from Stones and then holds him off, only to blaze an effort well off target from a tight angle.
There will be five minutes of added time at the end of this match.
SHOT! Now there is a shooting chance for Fernandes, but he puts his shot high and wide of the target when he should have done better.
A couple of late scares for England, then, but they seem to have settled again now.
FULL TIME: ENGLAND 1-0 SWITZERLAND
England hold out for the win, then, and while it was not the most convincing performance over the course of the 90 minutes, Southgate will nonetheless be happy with his side's second-half improvement.
An historic fourth successive defeat does not occur courtesy of Marcus Rashford's 54th-minute strike, with England picking up their first victory since the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
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Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as England return to winning ways courtesy of Marcus Rashford's strike. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
