Marcus Rashford's Goal Gives England Friendly Win Over Switzerland
Marcus Rashford netted his second goal in as many games for the Three Lions, as a tale of two halves saw Gareth Southgate's men come out on top.
A lackluster opening 45 from England saw the first half come to a close goalless, with the visitors probably feeling like they should have been in the lead. Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri had the best chance of the half, when he struck the post from 18 yards out.
Rashford opened the scoring early in the second half as the Three Lions looked to get back to winning ways after a disappointing defeat to Spain last Saturday.
There was little response from the Swiss, as England comfortably saw out the victory at the packed King Power Stadium.
Here are the major takeaways from the game:
ENGLAND
Key Talking Point
Southgate made a number of changes, as the England boss looked to experiment with a number of inexperienced players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, James Tarkowski and first-team debutant Ben Chilwell, who came on as a second-half substitute.
England seemed shaky at the back from the first whistle, as goalkeeper Jack Butland didn't cover himself in glory in the early exchanges, with a couple of questionable passes.
A tough first half saw the Swiss boss possession, with a number of key chances missed by the visitors, who would have felt disappointed not to be in the lead at halftime.
A comfortable second half saw the hosts take back control of the tie, which produced a positive outcome for Southgate's men through Rashford's goal.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Butland (4), Alexander-Arnold (6), Walker (5), Tarkowski (5), Maguire (5), Dier (5), Rose (7), Loftus-Cheek (5), Delph (5), Rashford (7), Welbeck (5)
Substitutes: Stones (5), Kane (5), Lingard (5), Henderson (5), Tripper (NA), Chilwell (NA)
STAR MAN - Danny Rose was one of the few England players which produced a positive performance in the first half.
The Spurs fullback was very energetic in the first period, before continuing a similar role in the second. Rose was up and down the flank the whole game, with a number of neat interchanges with Harry Maguire leading to chances for the Three Lions.
He will look to replicate this form for Spurs in the Premier League, after a relatively poor start to the season.
WORST PLAYER - It was a shaky start to the night for Butland, but he did improve as the night went on.
The stopper began with a mishit pass nearly hitting the back of his own net, before playing Tarkowski into trouble, which finished with Shaqiri smashing the post.
A fairly straight forward second half saw Butland end the game with a clean sheet, but the Championship player can count himself lucky the Swiss were not clinical in the first half.
SWITZERLAND
Key Talking Point
ManagerVladimir Petković would have been very impressed with the performance in the first half, as they controlled the game against the World Cup semifinalists.
If Shaqiri had been more clinical against Butland, his former Stoke City teammate, then the visitors could have seen themselves comfortably in front by the half-hour mark. A number of neat passing exchanges saw them create number of chances in the first half, with Butland called into a number of saves.
Petković will find himself unlucky to not have taken anything from the game, but another positive performance from his side will please the Bosnian born boss as he looks to build on their round-of-16 exit in the World Cup.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Sommer (5), Lichtsteiner (6), Schar (6), Djourou (6), Akanji (5), Rodriguez (7), Freuler (5), Xhaka (6), Zakaria (5), Shaqiri (5), Gavranovic (5)
Substitutes: Mehmedi (5), Moubandje (5), Fernandes (4), Ajeti (5), Zuber (5), Seferovic (NA)
STAR MAN - Ricardo Rodríguez was a stand out man for the Swiss, with the attacking fullback causing all sorts of problems for Alexander-Arnold.
Calling Butland into a couple of saves in the first half, Rodríguez was making sure he was always an option, and was continuously involved in the Swiss' attractive style of play.
Although being taken off at half time, the left back can be pleased with his performance as he returns to the Serie A.
WORST PLAYER - Shaqiri really should have scored in the first half, but spurned a one-on-one opportunity.
The winger was unable to influence the game as much as he would have liked in the second half. A shot which blazed over the bar from 12 yards out in the second half summed up the Liverpool midfielder's night.
Looking Ahead
Gareth Southgate's men next face Croatia and Spain in a pair of tough tests in the UEFA Nations League on October 12 and 15, respectively.
Switzerland will look to get back to winning ways in the Nations League with road games against Belgium and Iceland on the same dates.
