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Switzerland vs England player ratings

Switzerland vs England player ratings

ESPNSTAR's David Horsburgh rates the individual performances as Switzerland and England faced off in their Euro 2012 qualifier.

England picked up where they left off against Bulgaria with an assured performance against a tricky Swiss side. Here's how the players shaped up on the night...


SWITZERLAND 

Diego Benaglio - 5.5 - Nothing he could do about any of the goals but made a decent save off a Defoe shot. 

Stephan Lichtsteiner - 4.5 - (Sent off 64') - 5.0 - Caught out of position by Defoe a number of times and left huge gaps at the back when he went forward. Harshly sent off in the 64th minute. 

Stephane Grichting - 5.0 - Took a while to settle against the speed of Rooney and Defoe and was caught out of position for England's second goal. 

Steve Von Bergen - 5.5 - Strong in the air but just like his central partner was pulled out of position by the movement of England's attack. 

Reto Ziegler - 5.5 - Struggled to contain the pace of Theo Walcott and then Adam Johnson. Some important challenges but found himself outclassed on the right. 

Xavier Margairaz (off 45') - 5.5 - Crowed out in the center of midfield and was replace at half time after an underwhelming performance. 

Gokhan Inler - 6.0 - One of the home side's better performers, the captain was the at the center of most Swiss attacks but found space hard to come by against Gerrard and Barry. 

Pirmin Schwegler - 5.5 - Pretty anonymous for most of the game and was better at tracking back than he was at attacking the English defense. 

David Degen (off 64') - 6.0 - Quiet in the first half but burst into life with increased Swiss pressure. Strangely taking off just as he was seeing a lot of the ball. 

Eren Derdiyok - 5.5 - Started brightly and used his pace to bully the England defense, but faded as the game went on. 

Sebastian Frei - 6.0 - The Swiss captain was involved in nearly every one of his team's attack but never found himself in a dangerous enough position to get a goal. 

Substitutes

Marco Streller (on 64') - 5.0 - Made little impact after coming on bar a few strong challenges.

Xherdan Shaqiri (on 45') - 7.0 - Came on at half time and gave the Swiss renewed belief. Sensational long-range strike was his first senior goal and capped off an impressive performance.

 


ENGLAND 

Joe Hart - 6.0 - Almost a little too casual at times and made a few uncharacteristic handling errors, but there was nothing he could do about the Swiss goal. 

Glen Johnson - 7.0 - Great work to set up the opener for Rooney and was solid in defense too. One of the best England performers on the night. 

Phil Jagielka - 6.5 - The better of the two center backs on the night and got his head to most of the home sides crosses into the box. 

Joleon Lescott - 6.5 - Justified his inclusion ahead of the young Cahill and formed a generally solid partnership with Jagielka. 

Ashley Cole - 7.0 - Decent performance from the Chelsea man in both defense and attack where he played a great through ball for Bent's goal. 

Theo Walcott (off 12') - 6 - Looked to be in for a good night before pulling up in some pain and being replaced by Adam Johnson after just 12 minutes. Arsenal fans will be hoping it's nothing serious. 

Steven Gerrard - 7.5 - Much happier in a more central role and dominated the midfield with Barry. Played a characteristically perfect through ball for Adam Johnson's goal.

Gareth Barry - 7.0 - More defensive than Gerrard and spent most of the time sweeping up in front of the back four, but was vitally important in restricting Swiss attacks. 

James Milner - 6.5 - His crossing was a little inconsistent at times but sheer persistence made him a real threat done the left. Was important defensively too and tracked back well.

Jermaine Defoe (off 70')- 6.5 - Linked up brilliantly with Wayne Rooney again and his energy left the Swiss defense in chaos, but had to be stretchered off half way into the second half. 

Wayne Rooney (off 78') - 7.0 - Brushed aside rumors about his private life in just ten minutes and picked up where he left off against Bulgaria, setting up numerous attacking moves for England. 

Substitutes 

Adam Johnson (on 12') - 7.0-Took his goal really well and his pace and trickery were a nightmare for the Swiss defense.

Shaun Wright-Phillips - (on 78') - 6.0 - Found himself through on goal twice but wasted both chances by squaring the ball right to a defender.

Darren Bent - (on 70') - 6.5 - Finally opened his England account with a cool finish to take the pressure off England in the last few minutes.

 


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