Day of reckoning for England

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June 17, 2004 11:50 IST

England have absolutely no margin for error when they meet Switzerland in their second Euro 2004 Group B match on Thursday.

David BeckhamSwitzerland cannot afford any slip-ups either but at least they have one point from their opening 0-0 draw against Croatia, while England have none.

Despite all the emotions, heart-searching and drama surrounding their astonishing 2-1 defeat by France on Sunday, England are bottom of the group and another defeat would end their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has spent the last four days focusing his players on the many positive aspects of the game against France, while his opposite number Koebi Kuhn has been trying to build up his own side's confidence.

"England can exert huge pressure, but if we resist in the first 15 minutes they may start to get anxious," he said. "We really have nothing to lose."

Kuhn has to make at least one change to the team he fielded against Croatia following Johann Vogel's dismissal and his subsequent suspension.

Ricardo Cabanas, suspended for the Croatia game, could come back in, but Stephane Henchoz, who plays in England with Liverpool, is unlikely to face his club mates Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard as Kuhn is unlikely to change the defence.

John Terry is expected to return to the England defence after recovering from a hamstring injury, although his stand-in Ledley King was outstanding against France and along with Wayne Rooney and Sol Campbell was one of the best three England players on the pitch.

Midfielder Paul Scholes is also expected to recover from a twisted ankle to take his place on the left of midfield.

England have won 11 of the 18 matches between the countries and Switzerland have not beaten England since a 2-1 victory in a 1981 World Cup qualifier.

Switzerland, though, managed to dent England's big opening day at the 1996 European Championship when they forced a 1-1 draw at Wembley, and a similar result would seriously dent their hopes this time around.

Probable teams:

England (4-4-2): 1-David James; 2-Gary Neville, 5-John Terry, 6-Sol Campbell, 3-Ashley Cole; 7-David Beckham (captain), 11-Frank Lampard, 4-Steven Gerrard, 8-Paul Scholes; 9-Wayne Rooney, 10-Michael Owen

Switzerland (4-3-1-2): 1-Joerg Stiel; 2-Bernt Haas, 20-Patrick Mueller, 5-Murat Yakin, 17-Christoph Spycher; 8-Raphael Wicky, 16-Fabio Celestini, 18-Benjamin Huggel; 10-Hakan Yakin; 11-Stephane Chapuisat, 9-Alexander Frei.

Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)

Linesmen: Yury Dupanau (Belarus), Vladimir Eniutin (Russia)

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