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Switzerland national football team
Nations League | Third Place Playoff
Jun 9, 2019 at 2pm UK
 
England national football team

0-0

FT
England win 6-5 on penalties

The key talking points ahead of England's Nations League play-off

The key talking points ahead of England's Nations League play-off
© Reuters
Gareth Southgate's men face Switzerland in Guimaraes on Sunday.

England face Switzerland in the Nations League third-place play-off on Sunday afternoon.

The Three Lions were beaten by Holland in extra-time on Thursday night to miss out on a place in the final, while Switzerland fell to hosts Portugal.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at some of the talking points ahead of England's final game of the season.

Always the bridesmaid....

Gareth Southgate and his players applaud the crowd after losing the World Cup third-place play-off match against Belgium last summer
Gareth Southgate and his players applaud the crowd after losing the World Cup third-place play-off match against Belgium last summer (Aaron Chown/PA)

For the second summer in a row England will participate for the honour of finishing third rather than competing for a trophy.

They were beaten by Croatia in the semi-final of last summer's World Cup before losing to Belgium 2-0 in St Petersburg.

Gareth Southgate made five changes for that game and is likely to shuffle his pack again here, with most eyes focused on the later kick-off for the final in Porto.

With the inaugural Nations League not carrying the same weight as a World Cup, the game is likely to be sparsely attended with some England fans either opting to watch the final or even fly home early.

.....but third is the word for Southgate

Southgate wants to give England's fans a lift
Southgate wants to give England's fans a lift (Mike Egerton/PA)

While some may question if a third-place play-off in a four-team finals is strictly necessary, Southgate is keen for England to end their Nations League campaign on a high.

Asked at his pre-match press conference how he lifted his players for the game, he replied: "Very simple. We lost an important game on Thursday.

"We've got thousands of fans here and we need to make sure our performance gives something back, that we finish the season in the right manner."

Premier League stars to take lead roles for Swiss

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The Switzerland squad is not loaded with names that will be overly familiar to supporters watching at home – but they do have a Champions League winner and a Europa League finalist among their ranks.

Xherdan Shaqiri of Liverpool and Arsenal's Granit Xhaka are two of the key men for the Swiss, with both no doubt wanting to put in better performances than in the defeat to Portugal.

Xhaka gave away the ball in the build-up to Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick goal while Shaqiri conceded celebrating Liverpool's European Cup win impacted on his own display.

Stick with Stones?

John Stones' inclusion against the Swiss is uncertain
John Stones' inclusion against the Swiss is uncertain (Mike Egerton/PA)

John Stones made an awful blunder as he was caught in possession on the edge of his own box by Memphis Depay, a mistake which gifted Holland the lead for the first time in their semi-final clash on Thursday.

The Manchester City defender looked dejected at the time and when the final whistle blew he was consoled by team-mates and backed by Southgate in his post-match press conference.

It remains to be seen if Stones will be taken out of the firing line against the Swiss or given a chance to get the mistake out of his system before heading off on his summer break – with the likes of Michael Keane and Joe Gomez waiting in the wings.

Will Wilson be given his chance to shine?

Callum Wilson celebrates his goal in England's win over the United States
Callum Wilson celebrates his goal in England's win over the United States (Nick Potts/PA)

With fellow strikers Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford struggling to be fully fit, Bournemouth's Callum Wilson could be in line for his second international start.

He scored on his debut in the 3-0 friendly victory over the United States and may get the nod ahead of his more established team-mates.

Kane only just returned from a seven-week injury lay-off and played Tottenham's Champions League final defeat and 75 minutes against Holland, while Rashford was replaced at half-time against the Dutch with an injury which could see him miss out on Sunday.

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John Stones adopts the pose during the Nations League group game between England and Croatia on November 18, 2018
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League A1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal642014
Q Croatia Croatia62228
3 Scotland flag Scotland62137
4 Poland Poland61144

League A2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France641113
Q Italy Italy641113
3 Belgium Belgium61144
4 Israel Israel61144

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany642014
Q Netherlands Netherlands62319
3 Hungary Hungary61326
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina60242

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain651016
Q Denmark Denmark62228
3 Serbia Serbia61326
4 Switzerland Switzerland60242

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic632111
2 Ukraine Ukraine62228
3 Georgia Georgia62137
4 Albania national flag Albania62137

League B2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England650115
2 Greece Greece650115
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland62046
4 Finland Finland60060

League B3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Norway Norway641113
2 Austria Austria632111
3 Slovenia Slovenia62228
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan60151

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Wales flag Wales633012
2 Turkey Turkey632111
3 Iceland Iceland62137
4 Montenegro Montenegro61053

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Sweden Sweden651016
2 Slovakia Slovakia641113
3 Estonia Estonia61144
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan60151

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania550015
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo540112
3 Cyprus Cyprus62046
4 Lithuania Lithuania60060

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland632111
2 Bulgaria Bulgaria62319
3 Belarus Belarus61417
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg60333

League C4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Macedonia N. Macedonia651016
2 Armenia Armenia62137
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands61326
4 Latvia Latvia61144

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q San Marino flag San Marino42117
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar41306
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein40222

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Republic of Moldova Moldova43019
2 Malta flag Malta42117
3 Andorra flag Andorra40131


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