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Switzerland national football team
European Championship | Qualifiers
Sep 8, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
England national football team

0-2

FT(HT: 0-0)
Welbeck (59', 94')

Live Commentary: Switzerland 0-2 England - as it happened

Relive England's 2-0 victory over Switzerland as Roy Hodgson's side get their Euro 2016 campaign off to a winning start in Basel.
2

England began their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a victory this evening as they beat Group E rivals Switzerland 2-0 at St Jakob Park.

Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for the visitors shortly before the hour mark as he slotted home at the back post following a swift counter-attack from Wayne Rooney and Raheem Sterling.

The new Arsenal striker sealed the points in the fourth minute of stoppage time, netting his second of the match having been found by substitute Rickie Lambert.

You can read how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's live minute-by-minute coverage below.


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Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as both Switzerland and England get their respective Euro 2016 qualifying campaigns underway. These two are expected to battle it out for top spot in Group E so, despite this match coming at such an early stage, a lot still rides on the result here. It should be an intriguing encounter between two sides looking to start again after the World Cup. First things first, let's take a look at the starting lineups...

SWITZERLAND STARTING XI: Sommer; Lichtsteiner, Von Bergen, Rodriguez, Djourou; Inler, Xhaka, Behrami; Shaqiri, Seferovic, Mehmedi

ENGLAND STARTING XI: Hart; Stones, Cahill, Jones, Baines; Delph, Henderson, Wilshere, Sterling; Rooney, Welbeck

So, what can we make of those two lineups? Well, starting with the hosts, Vladimir Petkovic has made three changes for his first match in charge of the national team, bringing in Sommer, Von Bergen and Seferovic from the team that was narrowly beaten by Argentina at the World Cup. Some of those changes have been imposed upon the new boss, but on the whole it is a familiar looking Swiss outfit this evening.

The one to watch for the hosts this evening is Shaqiri, who was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League this summer. Liverpool were understood to be especially interest, with Shaqiri himself confirming that the Reds were in talks over a possible move to Anfield. He can be a real threat in attack, as he showed with three goals in the World Cup - more than England managed as a squad. All of Shaqiri's goals came in the 3-0 win over Honduras as he netted the first and only all left-footed hat-trick in World Cup history. Keep him on his right then, boys...

Elsewhere, Switzerland have a strong midfield, and the trio of Inler, Xhaka and Behrami will be confident of winning the battle against a relatively inexperienced England midfield. That area of the field could be crucial in tonight's match, and if Switzerland's generals in the middle of the park can repeat their performances from an impressive World Cup then the hosts will be well on their way to winning this match.

Two of the changes made by Petkovic come in defence as Von Bergen replaces Schar and Sommer comes in between the sticks due to the retirement of Benaglio. England have players that can hurt the opposition defence - even if they don't shoe it enough for the national team - so the defence will be very wary of the threat against them this evening. The likes of Lichtsteiner and Rodriguez love to get forward on the flanks, but that could well leave space for the Three Lions in behind so they can't afford to neglect their defensive duties.

England have enough pace in the team to make the most of space down the wings, with Sterling in particular a useful outlet down the flanks. The Liverpool teenager was once again his country's standout performer in an otherwise dull friendly win over Norway on Wednesday, and he is fast establishing himself as England's most important player. It remains to be seen where Hodgson deploys him this evening, although an exciting cameo at the tip of the diamond last week may have swayed the England boss.

Judging by the other England midfielders, a diamond does look like the most likely option for England, which will come as good news to most fans. Henderson has overcome an ankle injury and is deemed fit enough to start in midfield alongside Wilshere once more. This time, though, they are joined by Fabian Delph, who will be making his full debut for his country this evening having replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain in the starting XI.

Further forward, there is no Daniel Sturridge for Hodgson to call upon this time around after he was ruled out with a thigh injury that could also see him miss a substantial chunk of action for Liverpool. As expected, Danny Welbeck comes in to replace him after impressing during a sub appearance at Wembley on Wednesday. He had one of just two shots on target for England in the win over Norway, the other of which came from the spot as Wayne Rooney got the only goal of the game. That was his 41st for England, leaving him just eight short of Sir Bobby Charlton's record, but his performance on the whole was disappointing. He will need to improve against Switzerland - a team he has scored three goals in as many appearances against.

The back five remains the same following their clean sheet against Norway, although they can be expected to be tested a lot more tonight. Hart made a couple of good saves at the start of the second half on Wednesday, but question marks were raised over him once more following a mistake for Man City against Stoke last weekend. Stones, meanwhile, is still very much learning at this level, but the likes of Cahill, Jones and Baines have enough experience to help the young Everton defender out.

For Switzerland, this is the start of a new era following Ottmar Hitzfeld's retirement. Unusually when a manager leaves, the Swiss will not have been happy to see the back of the German, who made them into a top-10 team in world football. Their performance at the World Cup was decent as they reached the last 16, only to be knocked out by a 118th-minute Angel di Maria winner. It took a moment of magic from Lionel Messi to inspire the victory, but Switzerland will take great heart from the fact that they pushed the eventual runners-up all the way.

It wasn't all plain sailing in Brazil, however. The Swiss only managed second spot in Group E, with the crucial match coming against France. That was certainly their lowest point of the tournament as Les Bleus raced into a 5-0 lead before two goals from Hitzfeld's side made the final score a slight more respectable 5-2. They also needed a very late winner to overcome Ecuador in their opening match, while things were slightly more straightforward in the 3-0 win over Honduras.

This is the hosts' first match since their World Cup campaign having not had a warm-up friendly like many teams last week. They tend to perform best in competitive fixtures, with their defeat to France in Brazil the only time they have lost a meaningful game inside 90 minutes since 2011. That is a run of 15 matches which began when Wales ran out 2-0 winners just under three years ago.

That match, incidentally, came in the last batch of European Championship qualifiers as Switzerland failed to qualify for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine. They finished third in their qualifying group, behind tonight's opponents England and Montenegro. They will fancy their chances of doing a lot better this time around, though, having cruised through a kind World Cup qualifying group without being beaten.

They are particularly strong at home, and with tonight's match being their toughest home tie of the group, will be looking to get off to a perfect start in Basel. They have not lost any of their last nine home matches - a run that stretches back to May 2012 and includes a 1-0 victory over World Cup semi-finalists Brazil.

With those statistics combined with their good record in competitive matches, it is no surprise to see that they are a formidable foe at home in matches that really matter. Indeed, they have not lost a home competitive match for more than four years - a run that stretches back eight matches. Incidentally, that last defeat came at the hands of England, who ran out 3-1 winners in Euro 2012 qualifying, with Rooney and Shaqiri both amongst the goals.

Switzerland failed to make that tournament, but were present four years earlier in Euro 2008. However, they were co-hosts for that one, so will fancy their chances of qualifying for real this time around. It would come as a huge shock if they were to miss out, particularly with the expansion of the Euros, which means that the top two in the qualifying groups now automatically go through, while third place go into a playoff. Switzerland are currently ranked ninth in the world, so them not making the top three in a group that also contains San Marino, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia is highly unlikely.

England, meanwhile, are languishing down in 20th in those FIFA rankings, making them the underdogs going into tonight's match. They can have no complaints with that status either having suffered a winless World Cup campaign and not exactly set the world alight in their friendly against Norway on Wednesday night. This should be their toughest test of the qualifying campaign, so they will need a vast improvement on recent performances if they are to get anything out of it.

It should be noted that England had a very tough group in Brazil, with Italy, Uruguay and surprise package Costa Rica providing the opposition. However, the Three Lions' tournament was effectively over having lost their opening two matches, and their solitary point came in a dead rubber against Costa Rica - who had already qualified for the knockout stages. Roy Hodgson's side began the campaign fairly brightly with some good spells against Italy, but after the goalless draw against the Costa Ricans it was very much doom and gloom.

Their performance at Wembley on Wednesday night did nothing to lift that gloom either. The hosts controlled possession but did not use it anywhere near as well as they should have - mustering just two shots on target all game. One of those efforts came from the penalty spot as England laboured to victory by a solitary goal - one of very few positives to take from what was a largely dull, drab and toothless performance.

That victory did end a five-match winless streak for Hodgson's side, however, which was their worst run since 2006-07. The result was very much behind the performance in importance for the fans, though, and those who stayed away were proved right to do so. A crowd of just 40,181 fans attended the match - a record low at Wembley since the stadium reopened in 2007.

Due to their winless World Cup, England are without a competitive victory since their final World Cup qualifier, which came back in October of last year, 11 months ago. However, they do tend to do well in qualifying games - despite often leaving it late to book their place in the tournament. They have not lost a qualifying match since October 2009, when Ukraine triumphed 1-0. That run stretches back 19 matches, while their last defeat in a European Championship qualifier was back in November 2007 as Croatia consigned Steve McClaren's England to a summer without a major tournament in 2008.

That record is certainly a positive for England fans to take into this match, then, but one negative will be their recent record on the road. The Three Lions have not won a single one of their last eight away outings, drawing six and losing two - both of which came at the World Cup. Their last victory came in March 2013 against minnows San Marino, who are the only teams England have beaten on their travels in their last 11 attempts.

They may have the bonus of a little inside knowledge for this encounter, though, as Hodgson managed Switzerland between 1992 and 1995. The England boss made no secret of his joy at getting the chance to return to the country during these qualifiers, though he did admit that he would rather have played them later in the campaign. Still, he could well get a better reception from the home fans than the away ones this evening having led Switzerland to the World Cup in 1994.

The pressure is certainly on Hodgson to start producing better performances and results, but he is unlikely to allow that to alter his tactics for tonight's match. He knows that a draw would be a decent result for his side tonight and will be eyeing the easier games to come as a chance to produce some eye-catching football. A damning defeat this evening would do huge harm to the national side, so Hodgson is likely to set up in a way that will contain the Swiss first and foremost.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes from kickoff in Basel, so it is time for a prediction! England don;t often go into qualifying matches as underdogs, but they rightly do so this evening. Switzerland are strong at home while England have found things tough on their travels recently. Hodgson would be happy with a 0-0 draw, and with the likes of Sterling, Welbeck and Rooney up front will be hoping that they can perhaps nick a win. I can't see that happening, but England's main priority should be to keep Switzerland at bay. A draw is the most likely result for me, so I'll go for 1-1.

These two last met at Wembley in June 2011 in a Euro 2012 qualifier, and on that occasion the spoils were shared. Frank Lampard and Ashley Young found the net for England, helping them to recover from two goals down after a quickfire Barnetta brace had put the Swiss in control.

Plenty of focus will be on Wayne Rooney this evening as the newly-appointed skipper looks to rediscover some of his best form. There have been calls for him to be dropped despite receiving the armband, and there is no doubt that his performances for England recently have been underwhelming. He is the last of the supposed golden generation following the retirements of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, and England could really do with an inspirational performance from him tonight.

While Rooney was the prodigy of English football for so long, that tag has now been bestowed on Sterling, who could once again be his side's brightest player tonight. He is expected to play at the tip of the diamond, where he has enjoyed great success for Liverpool over the past 12 months. Rooney himself said that Sterling will be a huge player for club and country over the next 10-15 years, and he is already one of the first names on the teamsheet.

England are the only home nation in action tonight, but there are plenty more matches on offer for you. I will keep you up to date with major events from around Europe as another batch of teams get their Euro 2016 qualifying campaigns underway.

KICKOFF: Here we go then! England are back in competitive action for the first time since the World Cup as they look to come away from the toughest test of their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a victory. Switzerland, meanwhile, are looking to make a winning start under new manager Vladimir Petkovic. The visitors get us underway in Basel.

Cagey start to this match as both sides spend time in possession in the opening exchanges. England are pressing quite wide when the hosts have it at the back, which is preventing their marauding full-backs from getting forward in these early stages.

Mehmedi gets an early cheer from the crowd as he slips the ball through the legs of Stones before Henderson stops him on the other side. Solid start to this match from both teams.

Hart gets his first touch of the ball, collected a cross as Switzerland break quickly. Delph lost the ball in midfield and hacked Behrami down from behind in his attempts to get it back, and the Aston Villa midfielder is fortunate to get away without an early yellow card.

UPDATE: A couple of early goals around Europe, one of which has come in this group as Lithuania have broken the deadlock against San Marino. Elsewhere, Austria have taken the lead against Sweden.

YELLOW CARD! Silly and inexperienced play from Delph as he dives in on Lichtsteiner and brings the right-back down. There was no need for that as Baines was also in close attendance, and it was always going to result in a booking after the earlier challenge.

Half a chance for England as Hart catches the resulting free kick before pinging a superb kick upfield for Sterling. The youngster's attempted pass to Welbeck is cut out, but falls to Wilshere, who lifts the pass over to Rooney. The skipper chooses to take a touch instead of hitting it on the volley, and a defender nips in to snuff out the danger.

More promising play from England as Rooney knocks the ball down to Sterling around 25 yards from goal. The Liverpool man takes a touch with his right before looking to catch the keeper off guard with a snap-shot on his left. However, he gets nowhere near enough power on the ball as his tame effort rolls well wide.

Roy Hodgson will be fairly happy with this opening 14 minutes. His side have not created any really clear chances yet, but they are seeing a decent amount of the ball and have got within shooting range on a couple of occasions already.

SAVE! The best chance of the match so far falls to England as Von Bergen's clearance is poor and falls straight to Sterling. He races forward and has men either side of him, but his pass to Rooney is a poor one, bobbling up and down and forcing the United man to come to the ball. He still gets a shot away, but it is easy for Sommer to save. That was a very good position for England.

Big moment in the game for the ref as Switzerland find a way through England's defence for the first time. Seferovic is the wrong side of Jones, who stumbles and falls in his attempt to get back. He connects with the Swiss striker, who goes down himself shortly afterwards, but the ref is right to wave away claims for a foul and, most probably, a red card.

UPDATE: Sweden have levelled things up against Austria, with Erkan Zengin cancelling out David Alaba's penalty. Spain have taken the lead against Macedonia, meanwhile, with Sergio Ramos converting from the spot and Alcacer Paco doubling the European champions' lead shortly afterwards.

Wilshere is playing at the base of the diamond for England today, but it will be interesting to see whether he has the discipline required to fulfil the role. His main job will be to sit in front of the back four and act as a deep-lying playmaker, but on a couple of occasions already he has found himself high up the pitch.

Good defending from Baines as he hooks the ball away from danger having almost been caught out by a clever pass from Shaqiri. The winger dinked the ball over Baines's shoulder for Lichtsteiner, but the Everton full-back recovered well.

This is an intriguing contest at the moment, with both sides battling for dominance in the middle of the park. We still haven't had a really clear chance, but England have certainly come out with a bit more ambition than was expected.

Baines has been quite heavily involved for England so far, bombing down the left when the visitors have the ball and getting back when Switzerland are in possession. He would have been expecting a busy night with Shaqiri and Lichtsteiner on the right for the hosts, and so far he has dealt with the challenge well.

SHOT! Baines is involved in an attacking sense here as Welbeck knocks the ball into his path. The Everton full-back puts a first-time cross in towards the near post, but Rooney is unable to divert it goalwards with hsi header. Tough chance for the skipper.

CHANCE! Big chance for England! Welbeck breaks free down the right flank having won the ball in a dangerous position and cuts inside with Sterling and Rooney to aim at in the box. He aims for the former, but his pass is too strong and just too far in front of the Liverpool man. That would have been a tap-in had Welbeck supplied the right pass.

UPDATE: Slovakia have broken the deadlock away against Ukraine courtesy of a Mak strike, while Agim Ibraimi has pulled a goal back for Macedonia against Spain, converting from the penalty spot.

SHOT! Switzerland's best moment of the match so far as Welbeck only clears a corner as far as Lichtsteiner on the edge of the box. It sits up invitingly for the right-back, who hammers a well-struck volley a few yards over the top.

CHANCE! Huge chance for the hosts! Jones gives the ball away in a suicidal position and Shaqiri immediately slides a pass to Seferovic. The striker does well to stay onside, but Hart sticks out a leg to save his goalbound effort. Good save, and Jones will be the first to thank his keeper.

Sterling is struggling to make his usual impact on the match at the moment, with Switzerland doing a good job of making sure that there is a man on him at all times. It is a little crowded in the middle of the park, which is robbing Sterling of the space he thrives in.

This has been a decent spell for Switzerland, who are starting to threaten more in the final third now. Welbeck's misplaced pass seems to have acted as a wake-up call for the hosts, and they have responded well with probably the best chance of the night.

UPDATE: San Marino are expected to once again be the whipping boys of this group, and they are doing nothing to dispel at assumption right now. They are now 2-0 behind against Lithuania in one of two other Group E matches taking place tonight. Estonia and Slovenia, incidentally, is still goalless.

Switzerland have put in a number of heavy challenges on Sterling tonight as they look to muscle him out of the game, but his size belies his strength and he won't be easily discouraged. Hodgson is visibly unhappy with the treatment the youngster is getting so far, though.

SAVE! England inject a bit of pace into their attack as Delph and Baines combine well down the left flank. The former slips the ball in to Rooney, who creates an angle to shoot with his first touch before curling an effort towards the bottom corner. It bounces just in front of Sommer, who shovels it unconvincingly behind for a corner.

WHAT A SAVE! He may have looked unconvincing a moment ago, but Sommer has just produced a sensational stop to keep the scores level here. Jones attacked Rooney's corner really well inside the box and planted a solid header downwards towards the bottom corner. You'd say that he really should score from such a position having been left unmarked, but the keeper gets down really well to his left to palm it away. Not much more Jones could have done there.

HALF TIME: Switzerland 0-0 England

The referee brings an end to the first half, and it has been a very intriguing opening 45 minutes. Both teams have played some decent football without creating too much in the final third, although both keepers have been forced into making good saves to keep the scores level. It is set up nicely for a good second half and, as things stand, it is hard to choose a winner here.

The biggest chance of the half came right before the break as Jones stole in front of a ball-watching Djourou to reach Rooney's corner. He rose unchallenged and powered a good header down towards the bottom corner, only to be denied by a superb save from Sommer. It looked for all the world like Jones would score, but it was a truly world-class stop from the Switzerland keeper.

That corner came as a result of some rather more unconvincing goalkeeping from Sommer moments before as Rooney curled one towards the bottom corner. It was inventive play from the skipper, who has had another fairly quiet half, but Sommer should have dealt with it better than he did.

England have had a couple of other great positions during the match, the best of which saw Welbeck steal in and win the ball on the right flank. He raced through and cut inside before looking for a teammate, but his pass was too far in front of Sterling, who would have had a simple finish had the ball been right. Rooney was also available at the back post, but the new Arsenal striker wasted a glorious opening.

Sterling has not been guilt-free himself in a similar position, however, playing a poor pass to Rooney after Switzerland had once again lost the ball in a dangerous position. The Liverpool man raced through the middle and had men either side of him, but his pass to Rooney made it difficult for the captain, whose subsequent tame effort was straight at the keeper.

Switzerland have also created a good chance of their own and, like a number of England's opening, it came as a result of a defensive error. Jones gave the ball away in a dreadful position, but Seferovic could not squeeze his shot past Hart, who made a good stop with his leg. It was the first major thing that Hart was called upon to do this evening, and he coped with it well. Switzerland's next best effort came moments before as Lichtsteiner slammed an effort over the bar from the edge of the box.

All in all, it has been a fairly even encounter, but England have created the better chances so far. They will feel like they should be ahead, and you get the feeling that a goal would have a huge impact on the team. A draw is certainly not the worst result for the visitors this evening, but a goal would really take the pressure off them.

KICKOFF: Switzerland get us back underway for this second half in Basel as both teams look for the breakthrough. They will both fancy their chances of doing so after that first half as well.

CLOSE! Bright start to the half from England as Wilshere picks the ball up and moves forward from his holding role. He exchanges passes with Delph before firing a deflected low effort narrowly past the post.

CHANCE! Good spell from Switzerland now as they produce some nice build-up play. Xhaka slides the ball to Rodriguez on the left, and his low ball into the box is met by his fellow full-back Lichtsteiner. He tries to take the shot first time, but it is a tough one and he blazes his shot a long way over the top.

Sterling comes over to the left in an attempt to find a little more room, but he is quickly closed down once again. He looks to work a bit of space with some step-overs, but he then fires a poor attempted cross/shot out for a goal kick.

CLOSE! Good play from England as Sterling feeds the ball out wide right for Henderson. The midfielder slides a low pass right back in to Sterling on the edge of the box, but he completely misses his kick when presented with a good chance. The ball deflects of Behrami behind him, however, and rebounds just wide.

It has been a fairly lively opening 10 minutes to this second half, which bodes well for the rest of the match. England should be ahead with the chances they have carved out, but Switzerland are looking dangerous enough to suggest that they could punish the visitors if they don't take one soon.

Switzerland have a free kick in a good position, but they choose to cross it instead of shooting. It almost proves to be a great decision as Baines's flick takes it to the back post, but Delph makes an important block to concede a corner.

SAVE! This one is really opening up now. Lovely football from the hosts as Shaqiri floats a pass over to the left. The ball is nodded down to Seferovic, who cannons a powerful volley towards the top corner. However, Hart reacts well and gets a strong hand to the ball to push it away.

GOAL! Switzerland 0-1 England (Danny Welbeck)

The deadlock is finally broken, and it comes against the run of play! Rooney picks up the ball just inside his own half and immediately launches a counter-attack, with Sterling and Welbeck in front of him. The skipper advances with the ball before giving it to Sterling on his left, and the youngster in turn plays a fine ball across goal for Welbeck at the far post. The new Arsenal striker doesn't get the cleanest connection as it bobbles up to come off his shin, but he still manages to squeeze it in and give his side the lead.

What a big goal that could prove to be for England. It came as a result of good pace on the counter, and the right decision being made in the final third. All of the front three played crucial parts in that, and it has lifted the whole team here.

Switzerland had just been beginning to gain a measure of control over the match before that opening goal. They will feel hard done by at conceding at that stage of the game, but England deserve their lead. It came at the perfect time for the visitors as it has killed Switzerland's momentum completely.

SWITZERLAND SUB: The hosts make the first change of the evening as Mehmedi is replaced by Josip Drmic, who featured heavily for his side at the World Cup.

Wilshere carelessly gives the ball away and Switzerland break quickly. Drmic leads the attack, reaching the byline down the left before cutting the ball back into a dangerous area. There are no red shirts in attendance, however, and Jones is able to hack the ball away.

That goal has lifted the whole England team, particularly the front three who were involved in it. Rooney is starting to have more of an impact on the match, while Sterling, who has not had the best match on the whole, is also starting to find his range. Delph is also showing some flashes of quality having made an erratic start to the match.

Superb defending from Lichtsteiner as he slides in to dispossess Sterling after the Liverpool man had jinked his way past a number of challenges and into the box. The right-back had to get that tackle spot on, and he did.

SHOT! Well, this would have been goal of the qualifying campaign already. The ball is floated out to Seferovic on the right and he takes it down well before volleying towards goal from 25 yards without the ball touching the ground. It goes well wide, though.

CHANCE! Huge chance for Switzerland, but Cahill produces a great piece of defending to deny Drmic. The sub was played through on goal by an incisive pass, and he raced around Hart before looking to slide the ball into the empty net. However, Cahill was back there to make a vital sliding block and put it behind for a corner. Drmic looked to be just offside, but Cahill needed to make that block as the linesman had missed it.

Switzerland are starting to pile the pressure on the visitors now, and it looks like England are content to just hold out here. They are employing some time-wasting tactics already.

ENGLAND SUB: England's first change of the night sees James Milner introduced for his 50th cap, replacing Wilshere at the base of the diamond.

SWITZERLAND SUB: The hosts respond with a change of their own as Xhaka is replaced by Blerim Dzemaili.

Almost a stunning goal from Switzerland as the ball is played into the path of Seferovic with a superb ball from the left. The striker takes the effort first time and slams the ball against the crossbar, but it wouldn't have counted anyway as the flag was up.

ENGLAND SUB: Another change for the visitors as Jones limps off with what looks like a hamstring problem. Worrying news for United fans, particularly with their already lengthy injury list. On comes Phil Jagielka to replace him at centre-back.

Switzerland are really knocking on the door here, and England can only expect that pressure on increase from now on. The visitors have 10 minutes to hold out for what would be a huge victory.

Nice football from England down the right channel as Sterling and Henderson link up once again. The latter plays a good cross into the box that Sommer gets a strong hand to punching it out to the edge of the box. Delph is there but chooses to take a touch instead of hitting it first time, allowing Djourou to come out and make a rash challenge, getting man and ball. There are muted claims for a penalty, but the former Arsenal man got enough of the ball to make it a legal challenge.

Djourou actually hurt himself in the process of making that challenge, and he receives treatment on the field before the match begins again. Some vital moments wasted for England there.

CLOSE! Good effort from Inler as the skipper is afforded plenty of room to line up his shot from 25 yards. He drills a dipping effort towards goal, and it just ripples the roof of the net on its way over the top.

England have another chance to break as Sterling latches on to Jagielka's clearance. His long pass to Rooney isn't the best, but the skipper does well to anticipate Djourou's poor header, nipping in to burst past the defender. He eventually leaves it for Welbeck, but Djourou recovers well to make an important tackle.

There are just two minutes remaining here, and still Switzerland can't find a way through. England have some good counter-attackers in their team as well, which is proving useful to alleviate the pressure when they can break free.

UPDATE: There has been a goal in another Group E encounter as Estonia have taken the lead against 10-man Slovenia.

ENGLAND SUB: A late change for the visitors as they look to wind the clock down. On comes Rickie Lambert to replace captain Wayne Rooney, who passes the armband to Cahill.

There will be a minimum of five minutes added time at the end of this match.

YELLOW CARD! That didn't take long! Lambert goes into the book just seconds after coming on as a sub having tried to hold play up.

CHANCE! A chance for England to kill the game off late on as Sterling breaks free having been released by Henderson. The youngster cuts inside and has Welbeck in support, but chooses to go for goal himself, drilling a powerful left-footed effort narrowly over.

SAVE! Almost a big stroke of misfortune for England as Rodriguez's effort deflects off Stones inside the box. However, it is a kind one for Hart as the ball flicks straight into his arms.

GOAL! Switzerland 0-2 England (Danny Welbeck)

England seal the victory in the dying stages, and it is a second of the night for Welbeck. Sterling slips the ball to Lambert, who in turn slides it into the path of Welbeck. He shows good composure to draw the keeper out and slot it into the bottom corner.

FULL TIME: Switzerland 0-2 England

The full-time whistle swiftly follows Welbeck's second of the night as England begin their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a very good victory over their biggest rivals in the group. It was not the perfect performance from the Three Lions, but they showed the improvement that was demanded of them and have picked up the all-important three points in the process.

Both goals came in the second half and from Welbeck as he celebrated his return to the starting lineup with a brace. The first came from a quick break that also involved Rooney and Sterling as the front three combined for a classic counter-attacking goal. The new Arsenal striker than clinched the points with a second deep into stoppage time, slotting past the keeper having been played in by Rickie Lambert.

Switzerland came into this match as favourites, but they can't have any complaints at having been beaten this evening. England created the better chances and deserved their victory, which sees them get their qualifying campaign off to a perfect start. On paper, the rest of the matches are easier than this outing, so Hodgson will be delighted to come away with the victory tonight.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as England overcome Switzerland in Basel to lift at least some of the doom and gloom to surrounded the Three Lions' summer. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction, analysis and player ratings. From me, though, it is goodbye for now.

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Jordan Henderson of England in action during the International Friendly match between England and Denmark at Wembley Stadium on March 5, 2014
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Group A

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1 Germany Germany00000
2 Hungary Hungary00000
3 Scotland flag Scotland00000
4 Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Albania national flag Albania00000
2 Croatia Croatia00000
3 Italy Italy00000
4 Spain Spain00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Denmark Denmark00000
2 England flag England00000
3 Serbia Serbia00000
4 Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Austria Austria00000
2 France France00000
3 Netherlands Netherlands00000
4 Poland Poland00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Belgium Belgium00000
2 Romania Romania00000
3 Slovakia Slovakia00000
4 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Portugal Portugal00000
4 Turkey Turkey00000


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