In Focus: Five key talking points from England 2-1 Switzerland

Sean Wilson
LiveScore
Harry Kane scored his 49th England goal as the Three Lions beat Switzerland
Harry Kane scored his 49th England goal as the Three Lions beat Switzerland

Harry Kane became England's joint-second highest goalscorer with a second-half penalty as England came from behind to beat Switzerland 2-1.

Breel Embolo opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, nodding back across goal and into the corner past a helpless Jordan Pickford from Xherdan Shaqiri's right-wing cross.

However, the Three Lions roared back as Luke Shaw thumped home a spectacular equaliser from distance just before the break.

Captain Kane completed the comeback via a VAR-awarded penalty kick that took the striker to 49 goals for his country — scored despite Jonas Omlin diving the right way.

We look at five talking points from England's friendly victory at Wembley.

A back three

England manager Gareth Southgate chose to stick with a back three against the Swiss, having switched from a four-man defence for the final two games of World Cup qualification against Albania and San Marino.

The Three Lions won those two games by an aggregate score of 15-0, but could not make it three clean sheets in a row with the formation after conceding the opening goal.

The fact that Embolo was able to head home a cross unchallenged despite the presence of three central defenders is perhaps indicative of the fact that there is still some refining work to be done within the system.

A high press

It was clear from early on that Southgate had instructed his men to press high up the field.

The team's efforts were disjointed on occasion but proved fruitful on the stroke of half-time as Phil Foden's pressure forced a loose pass in the Switzerland third with the turnover eventually resulting in Shaw's equalising goal.

The majority of England's most dangerous moments came from high turnovers, with the hosts struggling to dominate the ball or pick their opponents apart in possession.

Perhaps we are seeing early glimpses of the style Southgate is hoping to implement in Qatar.

Palace pair

Marc Guehi and Tyrick Mitchell both impressed against Switzerland
Marc Guehi and Tyrick Mitchell both impressed against Switzerland

A number of debuts were handed out as Southgate looked to assess his depth in defence — at least partially due to a number of injury-related absences.

Of those, two were given to Crystal Palace pair Marc Guehi and Tyrick Mitchell.

The former started alongside Conor Coady and Ben White in the three-man back line, while the latter came on after an hour for Shaw.

Both impressed, with Guehi completing 95% of his 56 passes, while Mitchell won all four of his ground duels.

Kyle Walker-Peters

Kyle Walker-Peters had a mixed debut against Switzerland
Kyle Walker-Peters had a mixed debut against Switzerland

The third England debutant tonight was Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters.

Deployed at right wing-back, the 24-year-old had a mixed game — possibly down to unfamiliarity with the role after spending most of his time at left-back in a four-man defence for Saints this season, despite being right-footed.

He pressed energetically and won the ball well for the equalising goal, even hitting the post, although it would have been chalked off for offside against Foden.

However, the full-back was unable to show off his dribbling ability and looked less convincing when defending one-on-one.

Another landmark for Kane

Harry Kane scored England's winner against Switzerland from the spot
Harry Kane scored England's winner against Switzerland from the spot

Kane not only netted the winner from the spot in the only goal of the second half, but inched himself further up the England goalscoring charts.

The Three Lions skipper has now scored 49 times for his country, making him the joint-second highest scorer — joining Bobby Charlton and moving clear of Gary Lineker.

Kane's 14 penalties is also the most ever scored by an England player, with Frank Lampard next on the list with nine.

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