England beat Switzerland on penalties to secure third place in Nations League – as it happened

After 120 turgid minutes, Jordan Pickford scored and saved a penalty in the shoot-out against Switzerland as England claimed third place in the Nations League

5.11pm BST

And with that, it’s time to say farewell. Thanks all for reading - Rob will be back to take you through the final between Portugal and the Netherlands in a couple of hours.

5.09pm BST

Here’s Dom Fifield’s match report from Guimaraes.

Related: Jordan Pickford saves the day as England beat Switzerland on penalties

5.07pm BST

Jordan Pickford speaks: “It was a very tough game today and we showed character and belief to get through 120 minutes twice in a few days. I was a bit nervous taking my pen but never saving them. When we were practicing them I always seemed to be able to pick my spot. Obviously we took off Harry Kane and a few others who would take a penalty - not sure where I am in the pecking order. These two games are a lot better than playing two qualifying games [for the 2020 Euros].”

5.01pm BST

Keen to follow a game that definitely does mean something? Get right on England v Scotland in the Women’s World Cup with Gregg Bakowski.

Related: England v Scotland: Women's World Cup 2019 – live!

4.59pm BST

So what do we take from this, from an England point of view? Anything? Trent Alexander-Arnold being the first-choice right-back? Did we already know that he’s a better option than Kyle Walker? Is that your lot for John Stones?

4.56pm BST

Does two penalty shoot-out wins count as a ‘habit’? Probably not, but it’s better than the alternative for England.

4.53pm BST

Rob’s going for a lie down and to get a finger rub down ahead of the final later. Let us reflect on these glory days for England.

England end 51 years of hurt by finishing third in a tournament for the first time since Euro '68.

4.51pm BST

Nick Miller is here to take care of the postamble. Thanks for your company - bye!

4.51pm BST

England have won consecutive penalty shoot-outs for the first time in their history. Even if today wasn’t exactly the most pressurised environment, that’s surely a good thing. They were the better side today and fully deserved to win.

4.49pm BST

Pickford flies to his right to beat away a saveable penalty from Drmic, and England have won the third-place playoff!

4.48pm BST

Eric Dier, who scored the winner against Colombia, scores again with a placed effort to the right.

4.47pm BST

Schar takes it to sudden death!

4.46pm BST

Pickford cracks an emphatic penalty to his right, sending Sommer the wrong way.

4.45pm BST

Mbabu hammers an excellent penalty into the bottom corner, despite Pickford going the right way. And now Pickford is going to take England’s fifth penalty.

4.44pm BST

It’s made for Sterling to miss - but he scores to Sommer’s right.

4.43pm BST

Akanji, with almost no run up, places a cocky penalty into the top corner.

4.43pm BST

Jadon Sancho scores – just about. Sommer got a hand on it, I think, but it went through him.

4.42pm BST

Xhaka sends Pickford the wrong way.

4.41pm BST

A jaunty little Panenka from Barkley.

4.40pm BST

A brilliant penalty, smashed high into the net.

4.39pm BST

The referee makes Maguire move the ball back onto the spot before taking it. No matter: he leathers it in.

4.37pm BST

England will go first; Harry Maguire, to be precise.

4.33pm BST

“Must be a boring game for you,” says Sigrid. “Should these third and fourth place games be abolished in future?”

Yes, or they should at least go to penalties after 90 minutes.

4.32pm BST

Peep peep!

4.31pm BST

119 min It’s going to penalties.

4.28pm BST

117 min: Sterling hits the bar! It was a fine free-kick, curled over the wall at pace, and it thumped off the crossbar.

4.27pm BST

116 min Sterling is fouled just outside the area by Xhaka, who is booked. Although Sterling has had a bit of a stinker, he wants the ball at every opportunity.

4.26pm BST

114 min Barkley, who has looked bright since coming on, wins another corner for England. He takes it short to Alexander-Arnold, whose cross is blocked. It comes back to Alexander-Arnold, who lobs a big, dipping cross onto the roof of the net. Sommer was scrambling but ultimately had it covered.

4.25pm BST

113 min The teenager Noah Okafor replaces Seferovic for Switzerland.

4.23pm BST

111 min A poor pass near the halfway line from Walker puts England in a bit of trouble. Zakaria slips the weary Maguire and finds Seferovic, who looks even wearier as he tries to beat the last man Gomez. He wheezes into the area before being stealthily dispossessed.

4.22pm BST

110 min The corner is headed away bravely by Drmic.

4.21pm BST

110 min Sancho wins a corner for England, who continue to attack with puppy-dog enthusiasm.

4.20pm BST

107 min Barkley slides a beautiful pass inside the full-back for Alexander-Arnold, whose low cross towards Wilson at the near post is put behind for a corner. He took the wrong option, I think, as there were two players with an open goal at the far post. The resulting corner is headed over by Dier at the far post; he couldn’t get over the ball.

4.17pm BST

107 min “If ever there was a player that just HAS to start for England it’s this kid Alexander-Arnold!” says James Harris. “He’s been brilliant today and he was brilliant in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. Kyle Walker is as accident prone as Stones and isn’t the best right-back in England by a country mile. Play Alexander-Arnold at right wing back with Wan Bissaka behind and we will be deadly.”

4.17pm BST

106 min England begin the second period of extra-time.

4.16pm BST

England make their last substitutions: Jadon Sancho and Ross Barkley replace Jesse Lingard and Fabian Delph.

4.14pm BST

Since you asked, England’s best players have been Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Alexander-Arnold, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez and Delph.

4.14pm BST

I don’t know about you, but I’ll feel cheated if this doesn’t now go to penalties.

4.12pm BST

105 min After a mistake from Walker, the tireless Mbabu puts over a good deep cross that is claimed at the second attempt by Pickford.

4.11pm BST

103 min “Sterling has been abysmal today,” says James Harris. “OK so he’s had a good season with City but perhaps he’s just a flat track bully and not a world-class player after all.”

Perhaps he is, but I’m not sure a meaningless game against Switzerland is admissible evidence either way.

4.10pm BST

102 min ... but he hammers it into the wall, and there’s a break in play because the free-kick flattened Elvedi.

4.09pm BST

102 min Alli is fouled 30 yards from goal. Alexander-Arnold is over it, and boy does he deserve a goal...

4.08pm BST

99 min: Great save from Sommer! Alexander-Arnold, on the left this time, puts over an excellent inswinging cross towards Alli. He towers over Schar and plants a fine downward header that is brilliantly palmed away by Sommer as he flies to his left.

4.05pm BST

97 min Lingard receives a chested pass from Alli and lobs a good little pass over the defence towards Sterling. He waits for the ball to drop before mishitting a left-footed volley that bobbles through to Sommer. Sterling could have had five today.

4.03pm BST

96 min Dier flicks a header wide of the near post from Alexander-Arnold’s left-wing corner. That was a good run from Dier and a decent effort.

4.03pm BST

95 min: Another chance for Sterling. The outstanding Alexander-Arnold puts over a ludicrous cross from a deep position on the right which bounces up in front of Sterling at the far post. He can only head it back across goal from six yards, and it deflects behind for a corner. That was a much tougher chance than some of the earlier ones because of the way the ball kicked up off the pitch.

4.00pm BST

94 min It feels like the match is drifting towards penalties. England will be irritated if they lose this, because they’ve had around 90 per cent of the clear chances. They aren’t always the most clinical side.

3.57pm BST

91 min Peep peep! Switzerland begin extra-time.

3.52pm BST

The World Cup match between England and Scotland kicks off in just over an hour. You can follow the build-up right here.

Related: England v Scotland: Women's World Cup 2019 – live!

3.51pm BST

It will be extra-time in Guimaraes. You’re spoiling us, ambassador.

3.49pm BST

90+1 min There will be four added minutes. In the first of those, Alexander-Arnold - who has moved to left-back - crosses too close to Sommer with his left foot.

3.48pm BST

90 min Switzerland almost grab a late winner, but Xhaka’s low shot from 20 yards is blocked on the edge of the six-yard box.

3.45pm BST

87 min Switzerland make another change: Rodriguez off, Drmic on.

3.45pm BST

86 min It was a foul by Wilson, and on balance, much as I loathe VAR in its current form, I’d say it was a clear and obvious one. He pulled Akanji over off the ball, which made it easy for the VAR referee to raise the matter. “Fuck VAR!” chant the England fans.

3.43pm BST

Maguire started the move with a typical surge forward. He found Sterling, who skipped down the left and stood up a deep cross. Alli headed it against the bar but the rebound was shovelled into the net from a few yards by Wilson. But Wilson has been penalised for a foul on Akanji in the build up.

3.42pm BST

There’s a VAR check - and the referee is going to look at the screen.

3.41pm BST

Callum Wilson gives England the lead!

3.40pm BST

83 min “Hi Rob,” says Anthony Abdool. “Am I the only who, on hearing mention of Swiss defender Mbabu, says ‘Mbabu indeed!’ out loud?”

Well, you might be the only one saying it out loud, but I suspect it has found its way into many an internal monologue this afternoon.

3.38pm BST

81 min We’re heading for extra time in the Nations League third-placed playoff. Who says life isn’t fair?

3.36pm BST

78 min A confident statement from Maguire, who receives possession from Pickford near the penalty spot and loses Freuler without touching the ball. Nicely done.

3.34pm BST

77 min “A fit Ruben Loftus-Cheek would effortlessly glide into that midfield, scattering his rivals like so many nine-pins,” says Felix Wood. “I guess what this conversation proves is that midfield shouldn’t really be an issue for England, and that my campaign to get Will Hughes in the squad is destined to fail. And yet today’s team has Dier and Delph in it. Strange game, football.”

Funny and old, too.

3.34pm BST

76 min Zuber turns smartly on the edge of the area before dragging his shot a few yards wide. Pickford had it covered.

3.32pm BST

75 min Callum Wilson replaces Harry Kane, who has had a decent afternoon.

3.32pm BST

74 min Sterling heads over from six yards after yet another lovely cross from Alexander-Arnold. England want a VAR penalty for a foul on Sterling. Not for me, Clive.

3.29pm BST

70 min: Another chance for Sterling! Kane plays a fine pass to Alli, who releases Sterling on the edge of the area with an excellent square pass. Sterling shapes to shoot, changes his mind and miscontrols the ball straight out of play. It took a bad bobble, and I’m sure he wishes he hit it first time.

3.27pm BST

70 min England make a change, with Kyle Walker replacing Danny Rose. Walker has gone to left-back.

3.26pm BST

69 min After a fine start, Kane has faded a little. The same is true of England’s whole attacking group, really.

3.25pm BST

67 min A rare mishit cross from Alexander-Anrold almost drifts into the top corner. Sommer had it covered, in fairness.

3.24pm BST

66 min “I strongly suspect,” says David Flynn, “that Alexander-Arnold could learn the position by playing once every two months.”

I suppose you’re right. If it takes 50 games to become an expert in a new position, he’ll have cracked it by Euro 2028.

3.22pm BST

65 min Shaqiri limps off, to be replaced by Steven Zuber.

3.20pm BST

62 min Freuler, whose movement from the left has been excellent, wins a corner for Switzerland. It’s cleared by Gomez, and that’s the end of that.

3.19pm BST

61 min “Could Maddison be the Maddison-type everyone is looking for?” says James Whittaker. “Strange that he is not even in the squad...”

Gareth Southgate wants him to play in the European Under-21 Championship; otherwise I’m sure he’d have been in.

3.17pm BST

59 min There will be extra-time and penalties if necessary.

3.15pm BST

56 min: Fine save by Pickford! Switzerland almost sting England on the break. Seferovic hammers a crossfield pass to the right for Shaqiri, who drags an inviting ball back to the edge of the area, right into the path of the onrushing Xhaka. He opens his body to steer a fast, first-time shot towards the far corner that is pushed behind by the flying Pickford.

3.13pm BST

55 min: England hit the post! Or, rather, Schar does. He was stretching towards his own goal as he tried to clear Rose’s superb low cross, and all he could do was slice it towards the far corner. Sommer flew to his left to make another brilliant save, fingertipping the ball onto the far post.

3.12pm BST

54 min “I’m intrigued by your notion of Alexander-Arnold making the transition to central midfield,” says Geoff Wignall. “Not the least benefit would be to make room for Wan-Bissaka, which needs to happen sooner rather than later. Good as TA-A is, I see Wan-Bissaka as an even better prospect at full back or wing back - he might be in the Philip Lahm class and there’s no higher praise than that.”

There is if you had posters of the Neville brothers on your wall at university. I haven’t seen much of Wan-Bissaka but there have been so many good reports.

3.11pm BST

53 min Kane’s downward header bounces just wide of the far post. It wouldn’t have counted as Kane was penalised for a foul, but it was another terrific cross from Alexander-Arnold. He is so good.

3.09pm BST

51 min Shaqiri lobs a clever pass over his own head to Mbabu, whose dangerous cross is headed away from inside the six-yard box by Gomez. There’s an impressive calmness to Gomez’s work, which can’t be said of all England’s defenders.

3.07pm BST

49 min “Agree that we need a Maddison type in midfield - but I think also Henderson has been hugely underrated,” says Francis Mead. “We were instantly better when Henderson came on against the Netherlands. He does have the ability to hold it, make decisions, and play killer through passes. So we already have Henderson but need to add to him.”

Yes, if the World Cup final was tomorrow, and everyone was fit, and England were playing in the bloody thing, I’d probably play Winks, Henderson and Alli in midfield. I’m not entirely disgusted by the idea of Winks, Henderson and Foden in midfield next summer, assuming Foden develops as hoped. The other thing is that England are quite flexible tactically these days, and they have options in midfield to play a diamond, a 4-1-2-3 and a 4-2-3-1.

3.06pm BST

47 min Frueler zips infield dangerously from the left, but his shot from 20 yards has the sting taken out of it by Maguire and dribbles through to Pickford.

3.04pm BST

47 min “There’s no law that says Southgate can’t play Alexander-Arnold in a De Bruyne position for England,” sniffs David Flynn. “Does Southgate just follow what the club managers do?”

Oh no, I was talking about his natural development as a player. It’s not a position he could learn by playing there once every two months.

3.02pm BST

46 min Peep peep! England begin the second half.

2.47pm BST

Half-time reading

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2.47pm BST

Peep peep! England should be ahead, but they’re not. Harry Kane hit the bar, while Raheem Sterling and Dele Alli missed excellent chances.

See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

2.46pm BST

45 min “To me, Alli is drifting into the arena where Great Young Players go on to be OK Older Players,” says Tony Hughes. “We hear a lot about Trippier’s regression and maybe the need to move abroad to get his career back on track but Alli has gone backwards – like Trippier – since the World Cup.”

Yes, agreed. There are still games and moments when he looks quite brilliant, but they aren’t as frequent as they were a couple of years ago. He’s only 23, though, so he has plenty of time.

2.45pm BST

44 min The match is drifting towards half-time. England, without being overwhelmingly dominant, have certainly been the better team.

2.41pm BST

40 min “Hi Rob,” says Oliver. “Does the really important England game begin at 5pm?”

Yes. But the really, really important one begins at 10.30am on Friday.

2.40pm BST

39 min Seferovic is put through on goal, with England springing a hopelessly wonky offside trap, but Maguire and Rose recover well to block his shot from the edge of the area.

2.36pm BST

35 min Killer crosses like that. Alexander-Arnold curls over another glorious ball towards the unmarked Alli, who heads over the bar from eight yards. For somebody as good in the air as Alli, that was a sitter.

2.35pm BST

34 min I doubt it will happen in time for Euro 2020, but I think Alexander-Arnold will eventually become a central midfielder for Liverpool and England, a kind of ersatz De Bruyne who occasionally wanders to the right to put in killer crosses.

2.34pm BST

33 min I think Gareth Southgate will be happy with this start. England have had more possession and the better chances, and they haven’t bottled playing out from the back.

2.31pm BST

29 min: Another excellent chance for Sterling! Alexander-Arnold, surely the best English crosser since Beckham, drove a superb low ball towards the six-yard line, where Sterling completely missed his kick. Maybe it’s a good thing he did. Replays suggest that, had he scored, it would have been overruled by VAR for offside.

2.27pm BST

27 min Lingard is booked for a late tackle on Xhaka.

2.26pm BST

26 min Xhaka’s miserable shot from 30 yards dribbles wide.

2.24pm BST

23 min Rose is booked for a lunging tackle on Mbabu. He won the ball first but that doesn’t really matter any more.

2.22pm BST

21 min It’s been an enjoyable start to the game, with both teams playing some decent stuff. Kane looks as sharp as I’ve seen him in the last 18 months.

2.20pm BST

17 min “Rob,” says Felix Wood. “On the midfield conundrum, a lot would be solved by Harry Winks not being injured all the time. Dier has gone straight from potential to decline, unfortunately. But the other players you mention - none of them are the type of player who is going to take the ball off the centre backs on the half-turn and get it further forward in a way that keeps the momentum going. I haven’t seen enough of Rice to know whether he can do that.”

Winks, Grealish and Foden would be a decent ball-playing midfield.

2.16pm BST

14 min: Sterling misses an excellent chance. Kane, who looks sharp and purposeful, played a really neat pass to put him through on goal, but Sterling’s left-footed shot from 10 yards was too close to Sommer.

2.15pm BST

12 min “How I chortle at the speed with which our expectations change for England,” says Gareth Duggan. “People are saying finishing fourth two years in a row could be a negative. It’s not that long ago that we were being kicked out of the Euros by Iceland and wondering how much worse it would get. In the early 2000s it was ‘why do we always lose in the quarters?’. And at one point back in 70s (when every team in the top division was dominated by English players, lest we forget) we failed to qualify for the World Cup twice in a row. Now it’s a failure if we only finish fourth at consecutive tournaments? Sheesh. Let’s enjoy this side for the success it is achieving.”

You’re not on Twitter, are you?

2.13pm BST

10 min Switzerland have started well. Schar curls a long pass over the top that finds Freuler in a criminal amount of space on the edge of the area. He waits for the ball to bounce and hits a left-footed shot that is too close to Pickford. Maguire was coming across, so Freuler had to take it first time, but it was a surprise he had so much space in the first place.

2.10pm BST

9 min Sommer actually got a slight touch on Kane’s chip as he backpedalled desperately; it was a brilliant save.

2.09pm BST

8 min “I - and, I’m sure, many others - have a lot of time for Gareth Southgate and think he’s done a fantastic job with England,” says Ed Rostron. “And I think Gomez and A-A for their City counterparts is the right move. The thing is, though: Fabian Delph???”

I don’t mind Delph, at least not in a 4-3-3. Obviously there are better players but the alternatives within squad aren’t great. (Apparently Henderson is injured.)

2.08pm BST

7 min Nobody really expected England to change their style of passing out from the back because of that fiasco the other night, and nor have they.

2.06pm BST

5 min Pickford makes a smart save from Freuler’s stinging shot, although it wouldn’t have counted because Shaqiri was offside in the build-up.

2.05pm BST

3 min England are playing a diamond midfield: Delph left, Lingard right, Dier deep and Alli behind the front two.

2.04pm BST

2 min: Kane hits the bar! It was a brilliant effort, a first-time chip on the turn from the right edge of the area. It floated over Sommer and rebounded off the face of the crossbar. That was a majestic effort.

2.02pm BST

2 min Mbabu has an early shot from distance, and it goes into orbit. Switzerland smother England from the ensuing goalkick, but they play the ball out confidently. And then...

2.00pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Switzerland, in red, kick off on a sweltering afternoon in Guimaraes. England are in white.

1.46pm BST

Here’s Gareth Southgate

“We wanted to stimulate the opportunity to get the best possible performance today. In all positions we’ve got great competitions for places, and those two boys [Alexander-Arnold and Gomez] are pushing.

1.38pm BST

“I’d love to see a Grealish/Wilshere/Maddison/Foden player in this England midfield,” says Football Thanksalot. “Play all four of em, eff it!”

I’d get Foden straight in the team next season, I think. They certainly need more class in midfield; Grealish and Maddison also have plenty of that in their different ways.

1.30pm BST

An email!

“I think England actually need to win this to keep some semblance of positive feeling ahead of next year’s Euros,” says Oliver Atkinson. “Finishing fourth two years in a row is going to be hard to take.”

1.12pm BST

Read all about it

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1.12pm BST

There’s all sorts of live sport going on this afternoon, and you can follow it here

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1.06pm BST

Twitter: enhancing the discourse since 2006

#ThreeLions team news coming to you shortly.

Who would you like to see starting against Switzerland? pic.twitter.com/uuD9ZhMTsZ

Doesn’t really matter does it

1.06pm BST

John Stones has been left out, along with Kyle Walker, Declan Rice, Ben Chilwell, Ross Barkley, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.

England (4-1-2-3) Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Maguire, Rose; Dier; Alli, Delph; Sterling, Kane, Lingard.
Substitutes: Walker, Stones, Henderson, Sancho, Butland, Chilwell, Keane, Rice, Barkley, Rashford, Wilson, Heaton.

10.44am BST

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Nations League third place playoff between Switzerland and the Netherlands. Both sides will be hoping to bounce back fro-

John Flipping Stones.

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