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John Stones breaks silence on Gareth Southgate's plan to switch to a three-man defence for crunch Euro 2024 quarter-final clash against Switzerland

4 months ago 16
  • Southgate is set to make a major change to his side for the Switzerland clash
  • LISTEN to It's All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: How much of a risk is it for England to play with three at the back? 

By Craig Hope

Published: 22:30 BST, 4 July 2024 | Updated: 22:51 BST, 4 July 2024

John Stones says England will have no problem transitioning to a back three, with Gareth Southgate trialling the change for tomorrow's quarter-final against Switzerland.

It was at the last European Championship three years ago that Southgate switched to a three-man defence for the 2-0 victory over Germany in the last 16. He used it again in the final versus Italy.

England have so far played with a 4-2-3-1 here in Germany but, with performances poor and centre-back Marc Guehi suspended, a change has been worked on in training this week.


If so, Stones would be the central defender charged with organising the new-look unit, and he believes it would not be as big a risk as some think.

'We've done it in previous tournaments before, though,' he said. 'Germany, I remember, at the last Euros. Previously to that in 2018 (at the World Cup).

John Stones believes England will have no issues switching to a back-three against Switzerland

Gareth Southgate is planning to tweak his side for Saturday's quarter-final clash in Dusseldorf

'I think it's a great thing to have in the locker, if we need to play that system. It's something that shouldn't be underestimated for us as a team, that we can do it so easily and seamlessly, and kind of click together.

'We've got one more (training session) before the game, and hopefully we can fine-tune a few things that we have worked on over the past few days and see where it takes us.'

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