Alan Shearer has urged Gareth Southgate to drop two England players for the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland.
The Three Lions are just three wins away from lifting their first major trophy in men’s football since 1966 as they prepare to face Switzerland in the Euros quarters on Saturday.
Southgate’s side topped Group C despite three underwhelming performances against Serbia, Denmark and Slovakia, and then produced a dramatic comeback to beat Slovakia last time out.
England were moments away from a premature Euros exit as they trailed Slovakia 1-0 but Jude Bellingham’s injury-time overhead kick and Harry Kane’s extra-time header completed a stunning and unlikely turnaround.
Shearer says the Three Lions will need to improve to get past a Switzerland side who knocked out European champions Italy in their last game and has called on Southgate to make two changes, dropping Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka for Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer.
‘I can see what Gareth Southgate is trying to do, but I would much prefer if we were more balanced on the left hand side, hence me wanting Anthony Gordon on that side because I don’t think the Phil Foden thing has worked there,’ Shearer told Betfair.
‘I understand they are unbalanced because of Kieran Trippier having to play at left-back, he’s going to have to change again because Guehi is suspended.
‘Whether he thinks it is right then to change the system we don’t know. I would be surprised if he did.
‘I think Phil Foden has been unlucky, he hasn’t looked comfortable in the system England want to play. That left hand side hasn’t looked right, we haven’t got in behind anywhere near enough on that side.
‘His game is he wants to come inside and someone comes on the overlap. That’s been difficult for England to do with the lack of a left footer in Trippier. So, he has been unlucky.
‘But he is going to have to make changes because they haven’t played well. I know they’ve won and they’ve got through but they were lucky.
‘England got lucky the other night, they are into the quarter-finals, they haven’t played well. That has to be a positive because I’m sure that things can only get better.’
Assessing England’s quarter-final opponents, Shearer added: ‘Switzerland are a really well organised and they’ve got some really good players.
‘An open game may suit them as well because of the pace and talent they have got up front, three really good players.
‘And of course [ex-Arsenal captain] Granit Xhaka will want to get on the ball and control it like he did against Italy. They absolutely battered Italy from start to finish, they were miles the better team.
‘They like to press from the front, but that might be of benefit to England, it might open the game up.
‘Harry Kane after the first two games said that they were slightly confused about how and when to press because of the back threes they were playing against.
‘Switzerland play with a back three, so they know that and have time to work on it. Hopefully he is not saying the same thing after this game.’
While Shearer wants to see a couple of changes when England kick-off in Dusseldorf on Saturday, he expects Southgate to go with a ‘pretty similar line-up’, though reports claim he is considering making a shock formation change.
‘I think Gareth will go with a pretty similar line-up,’ Shearer said. ‘I don’t think he’ll go away from what he’s used in the past, albeit he’ll be looking for a big improvement in the performance.
‘This is the time where you have to step up. The Netherlands did it in their last-16 game, Turkey were absolutely outstanding as well. There are some huge games coming up in the quarter-finals, so it’s something to look forward to.’