Philippe Senderos says Switzerland’s stunning Euro 2024 last-16 victory over reigning champions Italy proves they are more than capable of beating England to a semi-final place this weekend.
Switzerland have been one of the surprise packages of this summer’s tournament, with Murat Yakin’s men emerging from the group stage with an unbeaten record before knocking out the holders in the round of 16.
Granit Xhaka and Co dominated from the first minute in Berlin and Italy had no answer after Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas found the target either side of half-time.
The result set up a mouth-watering quarter-final contest against an out-of-sorts England, who scraped through their last-16 encounter versus Slovakia thanks to a pair of dramatic goals from Jude Bellingham and captain Harry Kane.
The winning team will do battle for a spot in the semi-finals with either the Netherlands or Turkey at Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion on July 10.
Previewing Saturday’s intriguing clash between Switzerland and England for AS, former Arsenal defender Senderos revealed just how impressed he had been by the showings his fellow countrymen had produced in Germany.
‘It’s impressive, really. They’re controlling the games well,’ the ex-Switzerland international – capped 57 times by his country – told the Spanish publication.
‘It’s a great team and the players know each other very well. There’s a good mix between veterans and youngsters.
‘Having a goalkeeper like [Yann] Sommer, a centre-back like [Manuel] Akanji and a midfielder like Xhaka, who are world-class, everything else falls into place perfectly.
‘Xhaka’s level of performance has been impressive. I would say he is one of the best Swiss footballers of all time.’
While Senderos is hopeful over Switzerland’s chances, he is wary of players like Bellingham who are capable of producing a moments of magic out of nowhere – as the Real Madrid sensation showed against Slovakia.
‘There is a lot of pressure there with the England national team, I know that. Everything is scrutinised,’ he added.
‘But then they have players like Bellingham, who are capable of finding solutions to problems.’
Asked whether Switzerland can beat Gareth Southgate’s team, Senderos replied ‘It was proven against Italy.
‘Everyone has seen us play and they have seen what we are capable of.
‘I also think that Switzerland benefits from playing against big teams because they adapt better and compete well. It will be a great match.’
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