BOOTHROYD BEMUSED AFTER FLUKE SINKS YOUNG LIONS

THE problem was not that England lost this game, it was that they were never close to winning it. With all the attacking flair at their disposal, that is damning. Quite how disastrous this defeat is will become clear on Sunday after they face Portugal, but in the here and now, it is the same old story for the Under 21s. Despite an almost entirely different group of players, the failings of two years ago re-emerged. They now have a mountain to climb in the ‘group of death’. One shot on target, a routine Callum Hudson-Odoi free-kick, was the sum of their efforts. Even the half-chances would struggle to fill a post-it note. Switzerland were more purposeful, nicking the points with Dan Ndoye’s freak late goal. ‘We were very safe and cautious,’ manager Aidy Boothroyd said. ‘A lot of ball in front of them but not enough around and behind them. Why? I don’t know. We weren’t incisive enough. We didn’t have enough runners to create confusion — that concerns me. ‘The new format, with the top two going through, gives us more of a chance. We’ll go with an attacking formation against Portugal.’ Boothroyd (below) opted for a three-man defence, something deployed intermittently through an almost flawless qualification campaign. Oliver Skipp and Tom Davies — gifted sitting midfielders — started in tandem. England did not break the lines in the final third, Emile Smith Rowe and Hudson-Odoi playing behind Eddie Nketiah but ultimately crowding the wing-backs. The attacking chasm yawned from the first minute to the last. Switzerland should have won this game by three. Brighton’s Andi Zeqiri missed a glorious chance when Ben Godfrey gave away cheap possession; similarly Bastien Toma, who struck a post after the Swiss had pounced on a Davies error. Keeper Aaron Ramsdale spread himself bravely and contributed to the misses on both occasions. The winner was a fluke but Switzerland deserved their luck 13 minutes from time. They committed more bodies forward in the search for a winner and allowed Ndoye more space. Ndoye duly dropped off the front, shifted the ball on to his right foot and let fly from 20 yards. He could only strike it on to his standing leg but that was enough to send it spinning over the scrambling Ramsdale. ‘What we did in the final third wasn’t what I’ve come to expect,’ Boothroyd added. ‘You have to get over these things. It’s not all doom and gloom, there were good things. We can still do it.’ History is not on their side. England’s record is three wins from 17 matches since reaching a final in 2009. They have emerged from their group just once in the last five tournaments.

ENGLAND (3-4-2-1): Ramsdale 6.5; Godfrey 6, Guehi 6, Kelly 6; Aarons 6, Skipp 6, Davies 6 (Jones 66min, 6), McNeil 6.5 (R Sessegnon 76); Hudson-Odoi 6.5, Smith Rowe 6 (Eze 66, 6); Nketiah 6 (Brewster 76). Subs not used: Bursik, Griffiths, Cantwell, Gallagher, Wilmot, S Sessegnon, Tanganga, Madueke. Booked: Guehi, Skipp, Hudson-Odoi. Manager: Aidy Boothroyd 5.5.