England are just a week away from beginning their Women's Euros campaign and they will sign off with their final warm-up match against Switzerland in Zurich.
It's played two, won two for Sarina Wiegman's girls, who would dearly love to lay down another marker going into the finals by taking care of the Swiss at the Letzigrund on Thursday.
| What: | Switzerland Women v England Women – international football friendly |
| Where: | Letzigrund, Zurich |
| When: | 17:00, Thursday 30th June, 2022 |
| How to watch: | ITV4 and ITV Hub |
| Odds: | Switzerland Women 7/1, England Women 2/7, Draw 4/1 |
Lionesses roaring into form
England Women are 2/7 to win in Zurich against Switzerland, who are a 7/1 chance, and it's hard to dispute those prices.
The Lionesses are unbeaten in over a year and in their 13 matches played under head coach Sarina Wiegman, the first non-British head of the women's national team who is proving an inspirational leader.
Under the Norwegian, England have won 11, drawn just two and, critically, are heading into the Euros having overcome a couple of proper tests.
First, they recovered from a slow start to beat Belgium 3-0 at Molineux and a week later came from behind to crush the Dutch 5-1 at Elland Road.
The mood in the camp looks great, spirits have to be high and the world's eighth-ranked side go into the Euros at 9/2, disputing favouritism with the likes of Spain, France, Germany and the defending champions, the Netherlands.
Swiss struggling for results
Switzerland, meanwhile, will be making just their second appearance at a Euros when they kick off their Group C campaign against Portugal in Leigh on July 9.
Ranked 20th in the world, Nils Nielsen's charges are a 50/1 outsider for the Euros anf they are going to have their work cut out emerging from a group featuring heavyweights the Netherlands and Sweden.
What they need going into such a bruising and intimidating campaign is some good form behind them – and that's the one commodity they very definitely do not have.
La Nati ended 2021 in impressive form, top of their World Cup qualifying group on the back of six straight wins including a stunning 2-1 success in Palermo over the Italians.
In 2022, however, the wheels have started to come off. Two more World Cup qualifiers yielded a home defeat by Italy and a 1-1 draw with Romania and while they should still finish second in their section to book a playoff berth, that would still represent an anti-climax after their flying start.
Their preparations for the Euros have also been underwhelming. They’ve played only one friendly, and admittedly it was a tough one in Germany, but it ended in a crushing 7-0 loss which can have done nothing for morale.
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Have the German scars healed?
Head coach Nils Nielsen refused to make any excuses following the rout in Erfurt, but made it clear that his players need to learn their lessons sharpish or face another humbling, this time from England.
"Germany was clearly better," he said. "Many goals were easy and we have to correct that or it might happen again."
And Nielsen is acutely aware that the firepower possessed by the Germans is very much matched by England, who have scored an incredible 80 goals in Wiegman's 13 matches at the tiller.
In 10 of those 13 they have scored at least three times, and while many of their opponents are quite simply sub-standard, in 2022 they have played Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and banged in a total of 11 goals in that trio of fixtures. The Swiss have been warned.
England's record goalscorer Ellen White will get a run-out after the Manchester City veteran missed the showdown with the Dutch, while Beth Mead, with eight goals in her last four international run-outs, is blowing hotter than ever.
Goals on the cards in Zurich
The Swiss have a handful of top players in their ranks, with Paris Saint-Germain's Ramona Bachmann and Barcelona's Ana-Maria Crnogorvic the two outstanding personalities.
A third would be Arsenal's Lia Walti, national skipper but only just back in training following a thigh strain and it's questionable whether she’ll be risked.
If we've learned anything from the build-up to the Euros it's that England are flying, Switzerland are not and it's hard to imagine Wiegman's girls not winning this.
Over 2.5 goals at 7/10 looks a steal while the England Women – England Women half-time/full-time result at 10/11 might be another way in.
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