HARRY KANE has scored from the penalty spot to give England the win against Switzerland.
VAR ruled that the Three Lions deserved a penalty after spotting a hand ball.
Luke Shaw had equalised for England in the dying moments of the first half.
Breel Embolo had given Switzerland the lead at Wembley against an under-strength Three Lions.
Gareth Southgate’s side are now undefeated in eight games and last lost a game over 90 minutes against Belgium in November 2020.
Of course that penalty shootout defeat to Italy in the Euros final will not be forgotten in a hurry, even if the Azzurri failed to qualify for Qatar.
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That’s all from Wembley
England have begun the World Cup year with a win.
It wasn’t always pretty, it wasn’t particularly exciting, but the Three Lions have recorded yet another victory – and against a decent side too.
Switzerland ran their hosts ragged in the first half, and showed just why they came through their qualifying group unbeaten, finishing top above Italy.
Yet a goal on the stroke of half-time from Luke Shaw cancelled out Breel Embolo’s opener, and, in the second period, England took charge.
The friendly will perhaps be most memorable for Harry Kane’s 49th international goal, struck late on from the penalty spot, that took him level with Sir Bobby Charlton in England’s all-time scorers list.
Kane will be hoping to hit the half-century on Tuesday when Ivory Coast arrive at Wembley to throw down another challenge, and you’ll be able to follow all the action live with us here at SunSport.
Until then, thank you for joining us and goodnight.
Satisfied Southgate praises infectious Gallagher
Gareth Southgate praised England’s three debutants following a hard-fought victory over Switzerland, and then singled out Conor Gallagher on his first start for his country.
Palace midfielder Gallagher appeared for an hour alongside Jordan Henderson in midfield, and played a pivotal part in Luke Shaw’s equaliser.
Afterwards the Three Lions boss said: “It was a really good test. We know that they’re a very good side and I thought it was a great challenge for us.
“We learnt a lot about some new players, and some relatively inexperienced players in an international shirt, and I thought they all came through it very well.”
[Conor Gallagher] is infectious, isn’t he? I think he can set the tone for the rest of the team, we see that with his club every week, and he presses with ambition. Some players get close to people and don’t actually win the ball, he goes and makes contact, and turns the ball over.
Gareth Southgate
How the Three Lions rated
Who was the pick of the bunch? Who else shone in the Wembley sun? And who struggled to make an impact?
See how we’ve scored England’s stars in our match ratings following today’s 2-1 friendly win over Switzerland.
Captain Kane in fine company
Harsh critics of Harry Kane’s goalscoring exploits will point to the relatively low total needed to become England’s record goalscorer.
However, you only need to look at the players who have netted more international goals than the Three Lions captain in the past seven years to realise just what a special striker he is.
Match stats from Wembley
It needed a late Harry Kane penalty to separate the two sides as far the scoreline goes, and the match statistics tell a similar story of a tightly-fought contest.
Credit: UEFA.Com Spot on Harry’s no Gary
Gary Lineker must have relived his most infamous moment in an England shirt (okay, second-most after his dirty protest at Italia ’90) when he saw Harry Kane stepping up to take this evening’s penalty.
Lineker was also on 48 England goals, one behind Bobby Charlton’s then-record of 49, when he stepped up to take a spotkick against Brazil at Wembley in 1992.
The striker, normally so reliable from 12 yards, inexplicably opted for a cheeky chip that was easily saved by goalkeeper Roberto Calos. Lineker never scored for his country again.
Credit: @GaryLineker Twitter Full time – England 2-1 Switzerland
England come from behind to get the job done on home turf.
Harry Kane’s late penalty earned the Three Lions victory, but it was a win that they had to fight hard for after Switzerland had taken a first half lead.
Luke Shaw strike on the stroke of half-time cancelled out Breel Embolo’s opener against the run of the play, before a much-changed England took charge in the second period.
Kane’s winner takes him on to 49 international goals for England, level with Sir Bobby Charlton, and just four away from Wayne Rooney’s record.
England 2-1 Switzerland
90+5. The delivery is swung into the box. It’s miskicked at the near post, Rice is pulled down in the centre, and Grealish heads clear at the back stick.
That will be the final action of this friendly.
England 2-1 Switzerland
90+4. Switzerland win a corner.
The drama of it all.
England 2-1 Switzerland
90+3. There’s a late chance for Switzerland to level, but Declan Rice gets back to cover.
The West Ham favourite has been superb since his introduction.
England 2-1 Switzerland
90+1. Coady almost gets in on the act, but his twisting header is punched away in a most unorthodox manner by Omlin.
England 2-1 Switzerland
90. A mix-up between goalkeeper and defence almost allow Watkins and Sterling to steal in for a third, but the visitors manage to survive.
Four minutes of stoppage time will now be played.
England 2-1 Switzerland
88. There will be no number 50 tonight.
Harry Kane will save himself for Tuesday’s test against Ivory Coast by sitting out the final few minutes here.
The captain’s armband is passed to Jordan Henderson as Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins comes on for a late appearance.
England 2-1 Switzerland
87. Rodriguez whistles a speculative shot over the crossbar, and England are going to make their final change.
England 2-1 Switzerland
85. Into the final five minutes at Wembley. Can England hold out for yet another friendly success?
England 2-1 Switzerland
83. White continues to impress since moving to right wing-back.
He sparks a move that sees Henderson in an advanced position, and in an area to deliver a cross.
The Liverpool midfielder sends it long, looking for Bellingham, but the England substitute is too forceful in his attempts to meet it, instead bundling over Mbabu.
England 2-1 Switzerland
81. England immediately make their fifth change after taking the lead, and it brings an appearance for young Jude Bellingham.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder is on for Phil Foden.
England 2-1 Switzerland
79. The England captain makes no mistake from 12 yards!
Unfocused by all that’s happening around him, the striker runs up and buries the penalty low and into the bottom left corner.
Omlin went the right way in the Switzerland goal, but couldn’t get near it.
Harry Kane moves level with Sir Bobby Charlton on 49 goals, and now has only Wayne Rooney ahead of him on the all-time scorers’ list with 53 England goals.
Goal! Harry Kane scores from the spot!
VAR Review! Penalty to England!
The video officials take their time considering the incident, and the longer that they examine the footage, the more confident England become that the decision is going to come their way.
Eventually, referee Andreas Ekberg is advised to consult the pitchside monitor, and he needs just two replays to return and point for a penalty.
England 1-1 Switzerland
74. The corner is sent deep from the right, and finds Guehi at the far post.
The Palace defender’s header crashes into Zuber, and immediately the England players scream for a penalty.
The referee isn’t interested but there is a VAR check ongoing.
England 1-1 Switzerland
74. White gets forward again, this time on the right, and wins a corner when his low centre is diverted behind.
England 1-1 Switzerland
73. The Wembley crowd are getting really excited but it’s not because of anything that’s happening on the pitch. Could it be paper aeroplanes of Mexican waves?
England 1-1 Switzerland
71. White almost brings the house down with a thumping effort from 25 yards that whistles just over the crossbar.
England 1-1 Switzerland
69. A decent move down the left, and one that involves two of the subs.
Grealish finds Mitchell via Foden, and the debutant at left-back curls a decent cross into the box.
Kane gets up to meet it, but can’t get enough power into his header to truly test Omlin, who makes a comfortable save.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
