Ian Dennis
BBC Radio 5 live senior football reporter

"I think this is a bigger game for Roy Hodgson than it is for England and I would be fearful of the level of scrutiny should England put in a bad performance and suffer a heavy defeat in Switzerland.

"However, having heard Adrian Bevington, the Managing Director of Club England on 606 on Five Live yesterday, I believe the pressure is being generated from the outside.

"Listening to Adrian Bevington I still think the FA are very supportive of Roy Hodgson and listening to Wayne Rooney the players are clearly still behind the manger too."

BBC Sport Chief Football Writer Phil McNulty in Basel

"Considering there were fans outside three hours before kick-off holding up placards pleading for tickets, there are still plenty of empty spaces in St. Jakob-Park.

"Those Swiss fans inside gave a very generous round of applause when the name of England manager Roy Hodgson was read out. He is fondly remembered here for taking Switzerland to the 1994 World Cup Final in the United States."

Image source, Getty Images

For each a road.

For everyman a religion.

Find everybody and rule.

For everything and rumble.

Forget everything and remember.

For everything a reason.

Forgive everybody and remember.

Fantastic expectations? Amazing revelations...

You got the fear.

With apologies to Mr. Ian Brown...

Are any of the England players scared of playing in Switzerland? Should they be?

Image source, PA

It's not easy to bore a man who celebrates winning the Premier League by creosoting his garden fence - allegedly - but England managed it against Norway the other night.

"I have to admit I did doze off in front of the game," Alan Shearer writes in his column for the Sun,, external adding: "Those who did go probably wish they hadn't."

England manager Roy Hodgson bristled at media criticism of the 1-0 victory, but Shearer reckons his anger would have been better directed at his own players.

Referring to Hodgson's expletive-laden outburst at the post-match press conference, Shearer says: "We could have used the same phrase to describe the performance."

England manager Roy Hodgson on ITV: "We are playing a system which is similar to how we finished against Norway. In that system Fabian Delph is very adept. With him and Jordan Henderson it gives us enormous energy in the old fashioned wing-half positions and that allows Raheem Sterling to play at the tip of a diamond.

"Jack Wilshere can play at the base of the diamond, he's a very gifted player and we want him on the ball as much as possible. We have to conquer our fear, the worst things for performance are players going out anxious."

Roy or not Roy? Very much a matter of opinion...

Dom from Colchester: Why is Hodgson the man to lead England forward! Should have given Harry Redknapp the job. Hodgson has proved on more than one occasion he isn't the man for the job but yet still carries our national team! I am very patriotic but the way we are going I'm afraid to see us losing tonight! Boring 1-0 loss! Why can't the team just play some good football rather than the boring stuff we have been seeing?

Gareth: To all the media and fans baying for Roy Hodgson's resignation - whom exactly would you suggest we replace him with? There is hardly a massive list of English or British managerial alternatives. And any of those that are good would never touch the England job with a barge poke. Also England previously went down the route of hiring A-grade international managers like Erikssen and Capello when we had loads more international players in our team and it was hardly a success then was it? We now have an international manager with previous international managerial experience and a young team coming through. Now is not the time for knee jerk reactions. The media just want to sell papers and TV shows through being sensational.

Ade: England are a long way from being a Germany or Holland, but the immensely frustrating thing is that there's an exciting attacking side screaming to be allowed to play in that squad. And it's the management currently denying them that right. The culture of fear is suffocating our national side.

Image source, Empics

You've still got time for one last brew Roy...

Former England international Danny Mills
BBC Radio 5 live

"If I was Roy Hodgson I would try and use that press scrutiny in the dressing room.

"I would say 'the media are gunning for you' so go and prove a point. You are all good players."

A three-month hangover for Roy? We've all been there.

BBC Sport Chief Football Writer Phil McNulty in Basel

"Great atmosphere building inside St. Jakob-Park. This is a first-class football arena with high, steep stands that give the stadium an enclosed and intimidating feel. It will be a big test for the likes of Everton youngster John Stones, playing at right back and for Aston Villa's Fabian Delph as he makes his full debut.

"England manager Roy Hodgson has been out in the centre circle with his coaching team of Ray Lewington and Gary Neville - this is a big night for the 67-year-old as he attempts to shake off the hangover caused by that dismal World Cup campaign."

The England team are out warming up in Basel, with the stands steadily filling up around them. The home fans fancy a win here...

England and Switzerland will both expect to qualify for the Euro 2016 finals in France. A new, bigger - if not necessarily better - programme means that 24 teams will line up in the tournament.

That in turn means that the top two in each of the nine groups, along with the best third-placed side, go through.

The eight other third-placed sides will then be paired off in two-legged play-offs.

Tonight's other games in Group E are: Estonia v Slovenia and San Marino v Lithuania.

Neil W: Everyone seems to have missed the fact that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been dropped from the starting line-up, which is what allows Delph to come in.

Kieran, from East Sussex: I'm a West Ham fan and I've been waiting for one of our players to get called up to the England team. Rightly so, no one has done for the last few years. However, if players like Henderson and Delph are starting, how come Mark Noble is nowhere to be seen?

From Sam in Haywards Heath: It blows my mind that people don't think the players are good enough. The Irish and Scottish teams played some great stuff with lower league players in their ranks yesterday yet Roy struggles to get England playing fluidly with regular starters in the top four clubs in supposedly the best league in the world. No excuses, we're massively underperforming and need a modern manager.

Image source, Getty Images

England's last meeting with the Swiss was three years ago, when a Frank Lampard penalty and an Ashley Young strike pulled the Three Lions back after two Tranquillo Barnetta free-kicks.

And four years ago - almost to the day - England last ventured on to neutral turf, with goals from Wayne Rooney, Adam Johnson and Darren Bent wrapping up a 3-1 win.

Image source, Other

Ah Euro 2004. Paul Scholes from the left? Lovely. A fine tournament.

Switzerland: Sommer, Lichtsteiner, von Bergen, Djourou, Rodriguez, Behrami, Inler, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Seferovic, Mehmedi. Subs: Hitz, Benito, Senderos, Widmer, Frei, Stocker, Dzemaili, Fernandes, Kasami, Drmic, Schar, Burki.

England: Hart, Stones, Cahill, Jones, Baines, Wilshere, Henderson, Delph, Sterling, Welbeck, Rooney. Subs: Forster, Rose, Jagielka, Chambers, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Townsend, Lambert.

Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey)

Switzerland's new coach Vladimir Petkovic has chosen World Cup trio Haris Seferovic of Eintracht Frankfurt, Freiburg's Admir Mehmedi and Bayern Munich Xherdan Shaqiri to lead the attack.

Former Arsenal defender Johan Djourou is at the heart of defence, while experienced captain Gokhan Inler, 30, will start in midfield alongside ex-West Ham midfielder Valon Behrami, who impressed at Brazil 2014.

Former England international Danny Mills
BBC Radio 5 live

"You can talk about systems all day long. These players now have to go out and show something a little bit different.

"Last night Scotland had a go. They were positive and took the game to Germany and they had a go. They grew some balls and went for it. This is what England need to do.

"Forget the World Cup. Move on. Take a few risks, especially going forward, and show what you can do."

Image source, @Henrywinter

Daily Telegraph football correspondent Henry Winter:, external The programme for tonight's game.