Swiss pointers
Monday, 04 February, 2008
We take a look at the Swiss FA and the Three Lions' record against them from over the years.
England v Switzerland
International Friendly
8pm, Wednesday 6 February 2008
Wembley Stadium
The Swiss Football Association, formed in 1895, was one of the first on mainland Europe.
One of the founding members of FIFA in 1904, neutral Switzerland became one of the centres of world football when it was decided to locate FIFA Headquarters in Zurich.
Fifty years later, the founders of UEFA also chose Switzerland as their home, initially in Berne.
Football is recorded as having first been played in Switzerland in 1869 by English students at a college in Geneva. As the names of some of the top Swiss clubs like 'Grasshoppers' and 'Young Boys' suggest, the British influence in the early years was strong.
In 1905, a Swiss national team was fielded for the first time for a match against France in Paris. The Swiss made their mark on major tournaments in the pre-war period, reaching the Olympic Games Final in 1924 and two World Cup quarter-finals in the 1930s.
As World Cup hosts in 1954, Switzerland played Austria in the last eight. The Swiss were 3-0 up after 23 minutes, but eventually lost by the bizarre scoreline of 7-5!
The Swiss featured in the 1966 World Cup in England and an English coach, Roy Hodgson, took them through to the Second Round in the USA Finals of 1994.
England and Switzerland have met 19 times in full internationals. The series began in 1933, when England comfortably won a friendly 4-0 in Berne. The great Arsenal winger, Cliff 'Boy' Bastin, scored twice.
In the most recent match, at the EURO 2004 Finals in Portugal, England won 3-0 in Coimbra with goals from Wayne Rooney (two) and Steven Gerrard.
The countries have faced each other three times in the World Cup and four times in the European Championship. The opening fixture of the exciting EURO 96 Finals in England finished 1-1 in front of 76,567 fans at Wembley.
The Swiss played six times at the old Wembley – without achieving a victory.
Here is a full list of the matches:-
1933: Switzerland 0-4 England in Berne
1938: Switzerland 2-1 England in Zurich
1947: Switzerland 1-0 England in Zurich
1948: England 6-0 Switzerland at Arsenal
1952: Switzerland 0-3 England in Zurich
1954: Switzerland 0-2 England in Berne (WCF)
1962: England 3-1 Switzerland at Wembley
1963: Switzerland 1-8 England in Basle
1971: Switzerland 2-3 England in Basle (ECQ)
1971: England 1-1 Switzerland at Wembley (ECQ)
1975: Switzerland 1-2 England in Basle
1977: England 0-0 Switzerland at Wembley
1980: England 2-1 Switzerland at Wembley (WCQ)
1981: Switzerland 2-1 England in Basle (WCQ)
1988: Switzerland 0-1 England in Lausanne
1995: England 3-1 Switzerland at Wembley
1996: England 1-1 Switzerland at Wembley (ECF)
1998: Switzerland 1-1 England in Berne
2004: Switzerland 0-3 England in Coimbra (ECF)
England’s Record: P19 W12 D4 L3