England vs. Switzerland: The History of the Fixture

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 7, 2010

commentComment        

Fresh from getting their qualifying campaign off to the perfect start with a comfortable 4-0 win over Bulgaria, Fabio Capello’s England side now head to Basle to take on Switzerland.

Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Swiss side are ranked 17th in FIFA’s World Rankings, 10 places below England, and as second seeds in the group tonight’s away trip represents the toughest test that the Three Lions will face in qualifying.

Yet if history is anything to go by then Capello need not worry as England have lost only three of 20 meetings going back almost 80 years.

On the other hand, each of these three defeats has come on Swiss soil, although England themselves have won seven in Switzerland.

The nations first met in 1933 when England triumphed 4-0 in a friendly in Berne, with Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin bagging two of the goals.

Friendlies in Zurich in 1938 (2-1) and 1947 (1-0) saw Switzerland claim back-to-back victories, but England hit back with a thumping 6-0 win in 1948 at Highbury.

This started a sequence of six consecutive victories for the Three Lions, including a 2-0 win over the hosts in the group stages of the 1954 World Cup.

The most remarkable of these wins was an 8-1 success at St. Jakob Park, Basle in 1963 which saw Bobby Charlton net a hat-trick in a huge England win.

The sides met in the qualification for the 1972 European Championships with England claiming a 3-2 in Basle before the sides drew 1-1 at Wembley, as England qualified for the championships in Belgium ahead of Switzerland.

1975 saw another friendly in Basle, with goals from Kevin Keegan and Micky Channon giving England a narrow 2-1 win.

England’s 10 match and 34 year unbeaten run against the Swiss came to an end in 1981 Switzerland prevailed 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Basle, although in the end it was not enough for them to join England in qualifying for the f...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!