England face Switzerland at Wembley on Wednesday in what will be new coach Fabio Capello's first game in charge.
Here, PA Sport looks at how the two countries compare.
MANAGERS
Fabio Capello has already given a glimpse of the hard line approach he takes to management before England have even kicked a ball in anger. The Italian refused to indulge the sentiment which surrounded David Beckham's 100th appearance for his country by leaving the half-fit former captain out of his first England squad. Capello is not in football to make friends and is interested only in victory and success. The 61-year-old is a pragmatist with the emphasis on the result even though the match is only friendly.
His opposite number Jakob "Kobi" Kuhn is a man at the height of his powers and one ready to end his tenure in charge of Switzerland on a high at Euro 2008. The former Switzerland Under-21 coach's mandate when he took over in 2001 was to build a nucleus of young players in preparation for the tournament which they will host with neighbours Austria. And after an impressive World Cup in 2006, where they topped a group which included finalists France before they were knocked out on penalties by Ukraine in the last 16, Kuhn's team are at their peak.
FACE TO FACE
England last faced Switzerland in a competitive match at Euro 2004 where they ran out 3-0 winners in Coimbra thanks to two goals from Wayne Rooney and one from Steven Gerrard. The teams played out a 1-1 draw in a friendly at the Wankdorf Stadium in Berne as part of England's preparations for the 1998 World Cup in France. Paul Merson equalised an earlier strike from Ramon Vega. They also met in the opening match of Euro 96 at Wembley where Alan Shearer's goal was cancelled out by a penalty from Kubilay Turkyilmaz six minutes from time. Switzerland's last victory over England was a 2-1 win in a World Cup qualifying match in 1981.
RECENT FORM
England come into the match with the national team at one of its lowest ebbs after the reign of Steve McClaren which culminated in the failure to qualify for Euro 2008. McClaren's last two competitive matches in charge were a 2-1 defeat to Russia in Moscow in October 2007 and a 3-2 defeat to Croatia at Wembley in November. England's last friendly result at Wembley was a 2-1 defeat by Germany in August although a Peter Crouch goal did give them a 1-0 win over Austria in Vienna five days before the loss to Croatia.
Switzerland have not played a competitive match since the World Cup in 2006 as they qualified for Euro 2008 as joint hosts. In the friendly matches they have played since their elimination by Ukraine in Cologne they have recorded some impressive results. Kuhn has masterminded his side to a 2-1 win over Holland in June 2007 and a 1-1 draw with Argentina in August 2007 although their last result was a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria in November last year.
Capello makes public comments on eve of first test
Fabio Capello has set out his vision to bring success to the England team - but warned that his task is not going to be easy.
On the eve of his first test as England manager, the Italian stressed that only 38% of players in the Premier League are available to him while his Spanish counterpart has 61% of players in the Primera Liga to choose from.
Capello is concentrating on building up a group mentality in the England squad, fostered by some strict new rules while players are together at their training camp and based on mutual respect.
The proof of the pudding will first be sampled against Switzerland at Wembley tomorrow, and even the England players will not know whether they are in the team until just before they leave the team hotel tomorrow.
Only Steven Gerrard, named by Capello as his captain though not on a permanent basis, knows he is guaranteed a spot in the starting line-up.
Capello said: "We have just started working together and our objective is to form a group that will gel together before our first [competitive] game against Andorra.
"The last two days we have worked very hard on the technical front and have watched and analysed videos in order to create a group mentality and more importantly to work on moving on the pitch in a way that reflects my ideas about football."
The former Real Madrid and AC Milan coach insists that although the nature of the football he has been watching in the Barclays Premier League over the last month is different to the continental game, it is not an alien culture.
He added: "There are very similar aspects to Spain for example, but what is really interesting is that in England we have 38% of players who are English.
"In Spain, a much higher percentage are Spanish players so the manager of Spain has a much greater choice and this is something that people need to be aware of."
Capello was bemused that his new rules for players should have commanded so much attention, as they are the norm in Italy and Spain.
These include players being obliged to turn up on time together for meals, and leave the table at the same time. Use of mobile phones is restricted, and players are expected to devote their time at the training camp entirely to training or team-building.
The players are also referred to by coaches by the surnames only, which is also the habit on the continent.
Capello, who insisted he did not believe English players are any more pampered than others in Europe, said: "If people are amazed by these rules then they are probably not used to having them.
"I believe we have some obligations towards the fans and so I feel we need rules to work by, in an orderly fashion.
"We have not many days together compared to when the players are with their clubs so we need some strict rules to create a group and a winning mentality that I want.
"The players can call each other by first name or surname but eating together and getting up from the table together is just respecting other people."
The manager was asked what would happen should any of the players break the rules.
"I can't see why they shouldn't respect the rules," he replied.
"Obviously people make mistakes but if you want to be part of a group you have to follow the rules of a group.
"We will analyse and see why these rules have been broken and take the appropriate course of action."
The Italian conducted his press conferences in Italian, with simultaneous translation by an interpreter.
Capello had claimed he would learn the language of his adopted country within a month of having been appointed but he reasoned that although he was happy to speak to the players in English on the training ground, facing the media was a different prospect as he did not want to be misunderstood.
"With the players I can explain and communicate in a much easier way. I am happy about my English," said Capello, who admits he will feel some pre-match nerves tomorrow.
"When we get to Wembley I will be a bit nervous but when the game starts I will be 100% focused and concentrating on the game.
"I believe Switzerland are a good team. They have good players and they are very dangerous on the counter."
Capello also brushed off questions about those fans who had bought tickets hoping to see David Beckham win his 100th cap.
He added: "I respect him greatly for all things we did together at Real Madrid but at the moment the most important thing is talking about the players who will play tomorrow - not the ones who are not here."
