England’s players conducted an angry inquest at half-time after what Danny Rose described as an embarrassing first‑half display against Switzerland, before Marcus Rashford’s goal ensured victory for the World Cup semi-finalists. Gareth Southgate had earlier suggested that he expected a slack opening to the friendly in Leicester with three of his lineup having yet to start a game for their club this season and a makeshift feel to the selection.
With the match goalless and the Swiss having enjoyed the majority of the play and better opportunities, the players took it on themselves to demand an improvement before the manager and his staff conducted their own team-talk. “We were outplayed,” said Rose, who was one of England’s better performers. “It was a bit embarrassing. We could have been two or three down. It’s great we can all shout at each other and tell each other it’s not good enough. The second half wasn’t amazing but it was better than the first and we’re over the moon we got the win.”
Harry Maguire suggested Southgate went on to deliver stern words of his own, albeit that he was encouraged to see a squad, whom he has previously accused of being too nice, making their frustrations clear. “I wasn’t in there [when the players were talking],” said the manager.
“We always give them the first three or four minutes to themselves. We always encourage them to have a voice. It’s important they feel close enough that they can get on to each other. Then we have to make sure that doesn’t boil over.
“They were frustrated in the first half but I always knew that was a risk. It was the first minutes of football for several of them and to be up against a top side moving the ball as well as they were was one problem.
“We also had a tactical issue dealing with Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka going so deep, which meant even more running for lads getting their first game of the season. And we gave the ball away too cheaply.
“The first half was quite predictable really but the players needed the game. They dug in through that period and we were able to make some tactical changes at half-time.
“It was quite calm by the time I got in there. But it’s a good sign there’s some leadership in the group. They recognise when they want to be better. Today they were harsh on themselves. To expect each other to be as sharp as they might be on their first starts is a bit unrealistic.”
The victory ended a run of three successive defeats before next month’s Nations League ties in Croatia and Spain. “It’s important as a group to have got a win against a top-10 team,” added Southgate, with the Swiss ranked eighth in the world. “That’s a pleasing fact. We know the performance could have been better.
“We also know that, on Saturday, we could have feasibly ended with a draw against Spain. The players have given everything through a really difficult period.
“It was going to be tough mentally to switch back from the World Cup to these games, and difficult physically for all the players with two tough games to play. It’s not been a perfect week by any means, but it’s a win and I couldn’t have asked for any more of them.”