England 1-0 Switzerland: 5 Talking Points

#2 Xherdan Shaqiri’s neutralized influence

Delph kept Shaqiri in check

In a compactly structured Swiss defensive and midfield lines, Xherdan Shaqiri was provided with the freedom to undertake the free role between the lines. He was essentially expected to be the creator-in-chief, whilst looking around for spaces and then exploiting the English defenders with his guile and trickery.

However, once the Englishmen figured out their opponent's major threats, England ensured that Shaqiri hardly had space and time to pick out the perceived passes.

He was closely followed by the likes of Fabian Delph, Ruben Loftus-Cheek an

d even Harry Maguire, as everyone looked to squeeze him out of space and thus make England’s biggest threat sort of irrelevant.

When Shaqiri dropped down in deeper areas in order to look to build the play with some quick one-twos before he charged up ahead, he was troubled by England’s tenacious and diligent midfielders.

As the Liverpool player looked to dribble past his opponents near the box, his shot was well-perceived and blocked initially and this his performances failed to have any notable impact upon the eventual outcome of the game. He took three shots, but none of them were on target.

Furthermore, he provided no key pass at all and was rather left listless throughout his stay on the pitch.