England break Swiss hearts

England's Wayne Rooney (left) and Bernt Haas, two players who left their mark on the match Keystone

Switzerland have lost 3-0 against England in their second match of the European football championships in Portugal.

Despite a brave first-half performance, the Swiss failed to keep out England after being reduced to ten men for the second game in a row.

England’s teenage striker Wayne Rooney was the man of the match, scoring in both halves. His two goals made him the youngest scorer in the history of the competition.

The 18-year-old headed in a cross from Michael Owen in the 23rd minute. He added a second goal to his tally 15 minutes from the end after great approach play by Darius Vassell.

Rooney’s second strike came after the Swiss were reduced to ten men when Bernt Haas, who plays in England for West Bromwich Albion, was sent off in the 60th minute.

For the second match in a row, the Swiss played much of the second half a player down.

“Second game, second red card for us,” said Swiss manager Köbi Kuhn. “It was tough.”

Steven Gerrard added insult to injury when he scored the best goal of the match, finishing off a long spell of quality England passing in the 82nd minute.

Swiss pressure

“We played well,” said Swiss defender Patrick Müller. “But we lacked the experience to hold our own against England.”

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said he was always confident his team would bounce back from a 2-1 injury-time loss to France in their first match. But he admitted that the margin of victory flattered England.

“The job’s done,” he said. “Getting the three points was the most important thing.”

Eriksson said Switzerland showed they were not a side be taken lightly. “I think they played better than we did in the first half,” he said.

England badly needed to win the game to get back in contention for a place in the last eight.

But it was the Swiss, who salvaged a draw against Croatia in their first match, who looked the more threatening in the early stages.

A Hakan Yakin free kick was almost turned into his own net by Gerrard in the 16th minute. A minute later, a goal-bound shot by Alex Frei struck John Terry.

“The English let us play our game for a while,” midfielder Fabio Celestini told swissinfo.

“We had some opportunities to score, but we didn’t, and you don’t get a second chance at this level.”

Substitutes

England had not mustered a single shot on goal by that stage, but then took the lead in the 23rd minute.

David Beckham crossed from the right, Owen chipped the ball in from the left and Rooney was ideally placed to plant a firm header past goalkeeper Jörg Stiel from six metres.

The goal stood even though television replays showed Paul Scholes was offside.

England came close to scoring a second in the 35th minute when Ashley Cole crossed from the left, but Rooney was unable to get a touch and the ball flew across the mouth of the goal.

Switzerland then missed a chance to draw level in the final minute of the first half when Hakin Yakin curled a free kick just wide of the post.

At the start of the second half, the Swiss replaced veteran striker Stéphane Chapuisat with Daniel Gygax to try and unlock a well-organised England central defense.

Shortly after half-time, Eriksson sent Vassell on for Owen and he had an immediate impact, setting up Rooney’s second goal. He chased a long clearance and shrugged off a defender before playing the ball out to Rooney on the left.

The teenager could have returned the pass, but opted to shoot from a difficult angle. The shot hit the upright and rebounded off goalkeeper Stiel into the goal.

Level playing field

Kuhn said the goal should not have been allowed. “Everyone saw there was a foul on Patrick Müller,” he complained. “Everyone except the referee.”

Then eight minutes from time, Beckham sent his former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville racing into the area with a slick forward pass and the fullback’s cross found the unmarked Gerrard who swept the ball home.

The Swiss coach said that he would gladly take on England again, but without the odds stacked against him.

“I would like to have another game with the English, but with eleven players on each side and not ten against 12 [including the referee],” he added.

Switzerland’s final game is against France on Monday. The team’s chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals are considered virtually nil, but coach Kuhn has already promised his team will give their all against the French.

Croatia and France drew 2-2 on Thursday, leaving the Swiss with the herculean task of notching up a decisive victory over the French if they are to stand any chance of qualifying.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

Estadio Municipal, Coimbra.
30,000 spectators.
Referee: Ivanov (Russia).
Goals: 23 mins Rooney 1-0; 75 mins Rooney 2-0; 82 mins Gerrard 3-0.

In brief

Teams:

Switzerland: Stiel; Haas, Spycher, Müller, M. Yakin; Wicky, H. Yakin (Vonlanthen), Celestini (Cabanas), Huggel; Chapuisat (Daniel Gygax), Frei.

England: James; Neville, Campbell, Terry, Cole; Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes (Hargreaves); Owen (Vassell), Rooney (Dyer).