At the halfway point of this competitive group, England have seized control. Gareth Southgate’s side dominated long spells against Switzerland but appeared to lack the necessary ideas or guile to execute them until the Sunderland forward Duncan Watmore came off the bench to turn an often frustrating encounter on its head and reward his manager’s substitution.
“It was a glimpse of what he is capable of,” Southgate said afterwards. “It’s no surprise that he’s an intelligent player because he’s an intelligent boy.”
Chuba Akpom added a late third to leave them top of group nine on 10 points from four games, three clear of the Swiss and Norway. England’s new batch remain unbeaten since the deflating European Under-21 Championships and had not conceded until Shani Tarashaj’s opportunist strike moments before half-time, but they remained patient against a stubborn defence and will travel to Switzerland next March in pole position to win the sole automatic qualifying place.
“The way we keep the ball tires the opposition out,” Southgate said. “We’re unbeaten, we’re top of the group, and I firmly believe in the way we go about our work. We had to dig a bit, stand up to a physical situation. I like the fact that we’ve shown an edge, and it’s an important win in terms of the head to head in the group.”
Southgate was forced into changes after Jack Stephens’ red card in last week’s 0-0 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina , and John Swift, one of five starters on Chelsea’s books, made his debut on the left of an England midfield which controlled the early exchanges with the captain, James Ward-Prowse, their conductor.
Familiar England tunes blasted from a trumpet in one corner of the Amex but the music was drowned out by the 12,000-strong crowd when the other debutant, Brighton’s very own winger Solly March sent a shot searing just high of the upright. Switzerland probed down the sides early on, but it was England who looked more likely to penetrate – though they were served a warning when the visitors found the net, Haris Tabakovic’s clinical chest, spin and volley past Jordan Pickford ruled offside.