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FOOTBALL

Football: England to host Switzerland in September friendly

England are to play post-World Cup friendly internationals at home to Switzerland and the United States, the governing Football Association announced on Wednesday.

Published: 18 April 2018 19:19 CEST
Football: England to host Switzerland in September friendly
Supporters before the 2018 World Cup play-off second leg qualifying football match between Switzerland and Northern Ireland at St Jakob-Park Stadium in November 2017. Photo: AFP

The matches will be in addition to a UEFA Nations League campaign that features home and away fixtures with Spain and Croatia.

No venue has yet been decided for the September 11th visit of the Swiss team – known as the Nati in French and German – leading to speculation the FA could take the game away from their Wembley headquarters in London in a bid to make it easier for fans in another part of England to see the national side.

The November 15 match against the United States will, however, take place at Wembley. 

Switzerland, ranked sixth in the world according to the latest Fifa rankings. last played in England, ranked 13th, in September 2015, when goals from Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney condemned them to a 2-0 defeat in a Euro 2016 qualifier.

After the 2018 World Cup in Russia, England begin their Nations League campaign at home to Spain on September 8th, before trips to Croatia and Spain on October 12th and 15th respectively, ahead of facing Croatia at Wembley on November 18th.

England next play Nigeria at Wembley on June 2 before facing Costa Rica in another World Cup warm-up fixture in Leeds five days later.

Gareth Southgate's men begin their World Cup finals campaign against Tunisia on June 18.

Switzerland, meanwhile, will face footballing giants Brazil on June 17th in their first match of the tournament in Russia. They are also set to face Serbia and Costa Rica in the group stage.

Tickets for the England–Switzerland game are not yet on sale.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

Published: 4 March 2024 13:41 CET
VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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