England MU20s left it late in St. Jakob, where a last-gasp goal from Jack Clarke was enough to seal a first win of the new season for Keith Downing’s side.
It had looked as though the Young Lions might have to settle for a second stalemate in September, after they were held to a goal-less draw by the Netherlands in Shrewsbury last week.
But after impressing throughout with their passing and control of the ball here, only to find an organised and solid Swiss outfit tricky to break down, England came away with a deserved victory.
Despite the match being subject to a late stadium shift from the Rankhof Stadium in Basel to the Leichtathletik-Stadion in St. Jakob, both teams settled quickly and produced an entertaining first half.
Keith Downing’s side certainly shaded it in an attacking sense, with Clarke and Brandon Williams combining well on the left as they looked to catch out the hosts.
And Callum Slattery’s movement and passing caught the eye as he worked well in tandem with Danny Loader up front.
The second half was less flowing and a little more niggly, as both teams introduced substitutes and it took until stoppage time for the game to spring to life again with the home team tiring.
Clarke could’ve already scored in the second minute of stoppage time, when he found himself with just keeper Amir Saipi to beat after the Swiss defence failed to cut out a through ball.
Saipi won that battle of nerves and pounced to claw Clarke’s low shot aside.
The Leeds United man wasn’t to be denied again less than a minute later though, as he thumped a firm header from sub Luke Bolton’s cross to give Saipi no chance and win it for England.
Downing’s side will now play Italy and Czech Republic in another double header in October.
England: 1 Josef Bursik (Accrington Stanley, loan from Stoke City), 2 Tariq Lamptey (Chelsea), 3 Brandon Williams (Manchester United), 4 Marcus Tavernier (Middlesbrough) (c), 5 Nathan Ferguson (West Bromwich Albion), 6 Lewis Gibson (Everton), 7 Luke Thomas (Barnsley), 8 Jamie Shackleton (Leeds United), 9 Danny Loader (Reading), 10 Callum Slattery (Southampton), 11 Jack Clarke (Leeds United, loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
Substitutes: 13 Thomas McGill (Brighton & Hove Albion) for Bursik 46, 19 Japhet Tanganga (Tottenham Hotspur) for Lamptey 63, 18 Ryan Giles (Shrewsbury Town, loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers), 17 Luke Bolton (Luton Town, loan from Manchester City) for Thomas, 14 Andre Dozzell (Ipswich Town) for Shackleton 76, 16 Angel Gomes (Manchester United) for Slattery 76
Substitutes not used: 12 Jonathan Leko (Swansea City, loan from West Bromwich Albion), 15 Conor Gallagher (Charlton Athletic, loan from Chelsea), 20 Joel Latibeaudiere (Twente, loan from Manchester City)
Head coach: Keith Downing
Goals: Jack Clarke 90+3
