Chris Waddle Reveals Bold England XI To Beat Switzerland

Speaking exclusively to BoyleSports, Waddle has urged Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate to make both ‘brave’ tactical and personnel changes to keep the country’s Euros dreams alive. He has suggested a change at left wing plus a midfield three and a rejig in defence to get the best out of this squad.

The former Premier League star also pointed to a previous major tournament campaign where a tactical shift brought success and what he expects Gareth Southgate to do ahead of this knockout tie.

England v Switzerland Preview

I Have a ‘Horrible Feeling’ England Will Be Coming Home After Switzerland Game

I think Gareth will go with exactly the same team, minus the forced changes at centre-half and maybe left-back, I'll be very surprised if he changes it.

I think Switzerland will be going into the game with more confidence, I think they will realise this is the best chance to beat England, and I've got a horrible feeling that England will be coming home – even though I hate to say it.

Is This The ‘Brave’ Midfield Three That Could Change English Fortunes?

I'd like to see a bit more bravery, I'd like to see the players be a bit more adventurous, and I feel sorry for some of the players. Phil Foden is not a left winger, he doesn't play there for Man City, so you have to play a left winger there.

I don't know why he doesn't play Rice with Bellingham and Foden as a middle three. Foden played youth and reserve team football as a youngster and has gradually moved back over to the centre under Pep. Foden and Bellingham have the energy to get up and down the pitch, they can run and it's not as if they need to be carried to leave Declan Rice alone in the middle of the pitch.

Change on Left Wing Necessary

They can balance off quite easily, it's not hard, because good players play together easily. I'd like to see Anthony Gordon on the left with a bit more pace and take people on. I watched Spain on Sunday night and Spain attacked the flanks with [Yamine] Lamal on one side and [Nico] Williams on the other.

Spain’s Blueprint for Success

They get the ball wide, and let their attacking players do what they do best. The full-backs were bombing on, the tempo they played at was brilliant, and Rodri was his typical brilliant best. I actually think Fabian Ruiz has been the best player of the tournament so far. Their midfield hasn't necessarily got any 'aggressive footballers' in there, but it just shows you don't need two sitting in there.

Football is all about interceptions these days, you can't tackle anybody anymore because it counts as a foul. You need players who are energetic and can get around the park, but when they pick the ball up, they can see a 30, 40-yard pass and be able to execute it. We are so scared; people look to pull the trigger in midfield, but they are so hesitant, so the ball ends up moving from one side of the back to the other, or just backwards.

Look at Spain on Sunday night, in complete contrast. If they see a pass, they have the bravery to go and do it - regardless if it is 10, 20, 30 or 40 yards. We've got to find that release because we are playing a Switzerland side that we have to see as dark horses for the tournament. They could win the tournament, just as Denmark and Greece have done in the past. They should have beaten Germany, they did beat a good Italy side, they look well-drilled and they have a good blend of experience and youth.

Something Not Right With This England Team

We've got a lot of talented footballers, they have just not shown it. We need more options and movement off the ball, getting in behind teams and putting crosses in. There's a lot of playing to feet and not putting balls in front of people to chase and turn defenders around. There are far worse teams than England at this tournament who are being positive, attempting to play passes and then playing.

Spain had 75% possession and managed 35 shots, with 13 on target. England had two shots on target, with 72% possession - and they were the goals. There is something not right with this current England team. Why are we only having two shots on target in 120 minutes of football? It's not good enough.

Palmer and Alexander-Arnold Need to Play

Does Gareth go with the same formation? Luke Shaw is supposedly back, even though he hasn't played since February, it would be a really tough ask to get more than an hour out of him at this level of football against a very good team.

At a push, you play [Bukayo] Saka at left-back because I don't see a risk of that. You bring Palmer in on the right-hand side, with Gordon on the left, and Bellingham and Foden through the middle behind Harry Kane. [Ezri] Konsa or [Lewis] Dunk can play centre-half, but I would be tempted to put Kyle Walker in there and then bring Trent Alexander-Arnold into the defence at right-back.

But be positive; we are playing Switzerland who are a very good side, and if we play like we have played so far in the tournament we will get beat. I think we could beat Switzerland, I'm not saying we couldn't, because we have got the players.

England Can Take Inspiration From Italia ‘90 Squad - We Changed Tactics Midway Through

We changed the system when we played Belgium, going from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2. We had the players, everyone wanted to try it out, Bobby listened and looked at it and realised we were not getting anywhere with 4-4-2.

How that tournament progressed, we needed to make changes. We got to the semi-final against Germany and had a midfield three of myself, Gazza and David Platt. We didn't have one tackler between us, all we did was work hard to make interceptions and read the game to take the ball off of players.

We had three defenders behind us that we knew we could trust and we passed and moved forward, rather than just for the sake of it. We tried to play an attacking style of football, and we went for it rather than just sitting back. Germany of course knocked us out, but it wasn't because we played poorly or because we got it wrong on the pitch.

We changed the system to get the best out of the players we had and I don't think we are getting the best out of the players.

David Platt’s Goal Against Belgium Was Better Than Jude Bellingham’s Bicycle Kick

I think David Platt scored an unbelievable goal against Belgium; to take the ball over your shoulder like that, hit it first time and manage to get it on target - it was incredible.

How many times have we seen people do bicycle kicks? It wasn't like Garnacho's against Everton, or Rooney's against Manchester City - when he was about 20 yards out. This was seven yards out.

It looks great, but it's definitely not the best goal in England's history, not even close. I just can't have that one, if he had been about 18 yards out I might have changed my mind. But I'm just not having that.

I Had to Be Strong in the Head and Prove People Wrong After Penalty Miss at Italia 90

For me, I knew that I had the option to hide and lock myself away from the responsibility and disappear. You can feel sorry for yourself, sit in the house and think about never playing football again, but I always think about all the great players who have taken penalties and missed them.

Lionel Messi has missed a load, Cristiano Ronaldo has missed a load, all the best players have missed them. I knew this was a big stage, a World Cup semi-final, but I just felt that this wasn't going to affect me because it's a moment of my life.

I was determined to prove to people and show people that it didn't affect us. I got verbals from opposition fans when I got the ball on the touchline, but I was determined to prove them wrong and I think that was always my goal after that tournament. I wanted to play football the way I wanted to play, missing one kick was not going to ruin my life.

In an easy world, I would have loved for it to go in. It didn't, and I won't be the last player to miss a penalty at a crucial stage for somebody in a big game. We've had a lot since Stuart Pearce and myself, so I would always say to people, 'do what you do and get on with it'.

It's not the end of the world, honestly. You have to be strong in the head and look forward to all of the positives. At first, it did affect me, but you deal with the reaction and get back to playing football and prove to people it hasn't got me down.

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