• Switzerland 0-2 England

Welbeck double sees England pass toughest test

Danny Welbeck gave England the lead in Basel before adding another late on © Getty Images

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England shook off World Cup disappointment with the perfect start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign as Roy Hodgson's side beat Switzerland 2-0 in Basel.

Danny Welbeck's second half double secured all three points at St Jakob-Park as England passed what should be their toughest test on the journey to France with flying colours.

Without 15 injured seniors, Hodgson's young starting XI had just 282 caps among them whereas Switzerland's team had played 481 times in total for their country.

Hodgson: Hard work paid off

• Roy Hodgson says England got their just rewards in Basel after beating Switzerland 2-0 in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier.
• The England manager was pleased with his player's reaction after an abject performance in last Wednesday's friendly against Norway, but warned that some of his young players would still be affected by nerves in their opening few games.
• "I thought the way we approached the game from the first minute was exactly what we wanted and we got our reward," Hodgson told ITV Sport.
• "We pressurised the ball well, but you need that first goal to get people to come out and attack you. From then I thought we looked dangerous and we had several chances to aggravate the scoreline before Danny Welbeck's second.
• "I think we can improve on how we see out the game, but you have to expect that some players will show a little naivety in that area."

That, and the fact that Switzerland were ranked 11 places above England, made the hosts the pre-match favourites but Hodgson's men were the best team going forward by some distance.

The attacking triumvirate of Welbeck, Raheem Sterling and Wayne Rooney created many chances, but their finishing let them down until Welbeck poked home his first England goal since September 2013.

Fabian Delph, making his full debut, also put in a strong display in the middle of the park. The defensive vulnerabilities that cost England in Brazil were still evident - Phil Jones almost gifted the Swiss the lead in the first half.

But Hodgson will return to England with a broad smile on his face after beating his biggest rivals in Group E. Delph showed no sign of nerves as he started confidently. The Aston Villa midfielder pinched the ball off Stephan Lichtsteiner and crossed for Sterling, but his control was poor and Switzerland were let off.

Delph's enthusiasm descended into recklessness moments later though when he cut Valon Behrami down with a late tackle that was somehow left unpunished.

The former Leeds man was not so lucky with his second bad tackle on Lichtsteiner, which earned him a booking. It did not take long for Hodgson to come to the edge of his technical area, but there was no need for him to be alarmed early on - his team were putting on a much more confident, high-tempo display than the one that lead to so much doom and gloom last week.

Jack Wilshere chipped a delightful 30-yard ball to Rooney, but the captain's control was desperately poor and the attack faded out. An error by Steve von Bergen allowed Sterling to race at the defence but Rooney's shot dribbled straight into the arms of Yann Sommer.

With Xherdan Shaqiri in their side, Switzerland always looked capable of hitting England on the break though. Haris Seferovic latched on to a clever pass from the Bayern Munich midfielder, but the referee waved play on when the striker went down under pressure from Jones.

Jones carelessly gave the ball away and Shaqiri took advantage, carving a lovely pass through to Seferovic again, but this time Joe Hart saved with his right leg.

England had a brilliant chance of their own just before the half-hour when Welbeck broke down the right. England were three on one, but the Arsenal striker's pass to Sterling was poor and Switzerland rushed back to snuff out the danger.

Match Analysis

• Man of the Match: Tireless effort from several of England's stars on what could have been a difficult, if not embarrassing, night in Basel. Wayne Rooney was superb, but the award goes to Raheem Sterling, who provided a constant outlet on the left side of the diamond.
• Villain: Liverpool target Xherdan Shaqiri. A few bright moments, but went missing when it mattered most.
• Key Moment: Not one, but two. The England move finished off by Danny Welbeck for his first was lovely and a welcome positive from Hodgson's decision to adopt a diamond midfield. Equally as brilliant, at the other end, was Gary Cahill's sliding block from Drmic to keep England ahead. Goals win games, but then so do clean sheets.
• Rob Bartlett

Only Sommer's acrobatics prevented England from leading at half-time. The goalkeeper tipped Rooney's shot behind and from the resulting corner the he then denied Jones with a superb one-handed save.

Behrami almost handed England a way into the match just after the restart when his clearance drifted inches wide of his own goal after some good work by Jordan Henderson and Sterling.

England were soon under pressure again though and Hart did well to deny Seferovic, who had smacked a sweet volley towards the top corner.

Switzerland's pressing left them open at the back and England took full advantage just before the hour. Rooney galloped forward from the halfway line and slipped the ball straight into Sterling's path.

The Liverpool winger, compared to Marc Overmars by Rooney on the eve of the match, cantered down the left just like the flying Dutchman and bypassed three defenders with a flat ball across the box to Welbeck, who shinned the ball into the net at the far post.

Sterling almost doubled England's lead with a mazy dribble into the box, but Lichtsteiner put in a superb last-ditch tackle.

Moments after his introduction, Josip Drmic broke through the England back line and he was allowed to advance on goal despite being offside. The striker rounded Hart, but Gary Cahill came to England's rescue with a block on the line.

It was a superb block, but one that involved his hand, much to Switzerland's annoyance Ricardo Rodriguez's deflected shot sent a few pulses in the away end racing towards the death, but Hart saved.

Then in the fourth minute of injury time Sterling found substitute Rickie Lambert on the break. The Liverpool striker played the ball on to Welbeck and he slotted the ball past Sommer to seal the victory for England and their hordes of jubilant fans.

Danny Welbeck put Switzerland to the sword with two fine finishes © Getty Images

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