Luke Shaw’s absence has forced Kieran Trippier to play out of position at left-back for the duration of the tournament so far, visibly affecting the balance of England’s team.

Gomez is an alternative having played much of the club season in that position as Liverpool dealt with long-term injuries to Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas, while Konsa’s brief international career has largely been spent in the wide positions.

England briefly moved to a back three during extra time against Slovakia and, while Bukayo Saka and in particular Eberechi Eze are unlikely to be deployed as starting wing-backs on Saturday, that system does provide another option.

Kyle Walker would be likely to move to the right of the trio in that scenario, with Trippier or Trent Alexander-Arnold outside him. Trippier could still be required at left wing-back if Shaw remains unavailable, unless Saka or Gomez were preferred.

Yellow cards are wiped after the quarter-finals for suspension purposes but England will have Trippier, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Kobbie Mainoo and Conor Gallagher walking the tightrope against Switzerland.

Liverpool’s Joe Gomez is Southgate’s other option, his stand-out statistic from the league season being a success rate of 74 per cent in aerial duels – winning 31 of 42 to match the ratio of prospective England partner John Stones.

Like Konsa, Gomez’s versatility is another mark in his favour if Southgate opts for more wide-ranging changes.

Brighton defender Lewis Dunk’s 88 clearances matched Guehi for the most of any central defender in Southgate’s squad, albeit in eight more appearances, while his comfort on the ball could be of value – only star Manchester City midfielder Rodri made more than Dunk’s 3,212 passes in last season’s Premier League and he completed well over 90 per cent.

Dunk’s 27 tackles ranked only ninth among Brighton players – behind forwards Danny Welbeck, Joao Pedro and Simon Adingra – though that owes partly to the Seagulls’ pressing system and it is worth remembering centre-back Leah Williamson skippered England to glory in the 2022 Women’s Euro without making a single tackle.

Ezri Konsa’s extra-time substitute appearance against Slovakia may appear to position him as Guehi’s likely replacement, even if he came on at left-back as part of a series of desperate late-game reshuffles.

In 35 Premier League appearances in 2023-24, Konsa led Aston Villa with 62 interceptions and won 59 per cent of his 54 tackles. Guehi, by way of comparison, played 25 times and made just 18 interceptions and 28 tackles, though 68 per cent of those were successful.

Konsa’s 76 per cent success rate in duels was the highest of England’s centre-back options in Germany, as was his tally of 167 won, though he was marked by the Premier League with two errors leading to opposition goals.

England will be forced into at least one change for their Euro 2024 quarter-final as Marc Guehi’s suspension leaves Gareth Southgate to consider his defensive options.

Guehi, perhaps England’s stand-out player at the tournament so far, picked up a second booking of the tournament early in the last-16 clash with Slovakia.

Here, we wassess the contenders to take the Crystal Palace centre-back’s place against Switzerland…

England fans have again been praised for their good behaviour as just four arrests were made in connection with the team’s Euro 2024 last-16 match against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen.

The UK Football Policing Unit confirmed on Monday morning that three people were arrested for obstructing police and abusing stewards at Sunday’s match, while a fourth was detained for fighting in the stadium.

“No major issues were reported yesterday with continued good behaviour from the vast majority of England fans in Gelsenkirchen,” the UKFPU said in its statement.

England came from a goal down to beat Slovakia 2-1 and book their passage to the quarter-finals, where they will take on Switzerland in Dusseldorf on Saturday.

England centre-back Guehi is suspended after collecting his second booking of the tournament, but Luke Shaw could be available having been out since February with a hamstring issue.

Southgate admitted England have “a little bit of problem with our balance without a left-footed left-back” but decided against bringing him on in Gelsenkirchen.

“I think that’s got a chance,” he added. “I mean, we could have put him on, but he’s done so little full team training that that would have been a huge risk.

“A bit more training, a little bit more evidence for us of the level that he’s at will be helpful.”

Few understand that better than defender John Stones, who has gone from perennial Premier League champions Manchester City to his fifth major international tournament.

The 30-year-old defender said after the Slovakia win that England could “kind of take the handbrake off” after Sunday’s emotional win – comments that seemed to surprise Southgate.

“(Last night) was an example of cup football,” he said. “Sometimes cup football is about character, heart, the spirit.

“We didn’t defend well at the start and we didn’t play through their press, which was really well organised, and we struggled to break that first line of pressure.

“That wasn’t a handbrake. That was we had a problem that we couldn’t solve getting the ball into the second line of the pitch and there’s a big difference.

“I think the game against the Swiss will throw completely different tactical problems – just as difficult, just as complex and a different solution to solve.

“But we’ve got a few days to recover and that’s going to be important because the energy levels that were required, whether we’ve got any injuries, we need to assess.

“Obviously we lose Marc (Guehi) for the next game as well, so plenty for us to think about.”

Young star Bellingham epitomised that spirit when acrobatically striking home in stoppage time to salvage England’s campaign before hitting back at those talking “rubbish” about them afterwards.

“He was 21 yesterday and he’s doing unbelievably well,” Southgate said. “I understand his world better than a lot of people, I think. His world is different to pretty much every other 21-year-old in the world.

“He’s had an incredible impact on his clubs, his national team already, but he’s still a young man and he is going to say things, react to things, in a way that young people will.

“But what he can provide us are these moments where he grabs things by the scruff of the neck and his character, and his personality creates moments that can change a big game.

“That’s what he has given to us again. Two hugely important goals for us in this tournament already. He’s a great boy, he’s super to work with, wants to do well.

“Also, I think he knows that we’re trying to help him through all of these challenges and hurdles that the different environment of the national team brings because it is a different environment.”

“You build on the spirit that they’ve shown, the belief that they’ll have gained from that,” Southgate said.

“Equally, we’re not naive. We’re going to play a team that have looked outstanding, not just in this tournament but for quite a while as well. That’s going to be a big tactical challenge for us.

“We know that the level of our game will need to be higher, but there was a spirit and there was a togetherness that has been building.

“We’ve had a lot of problems to solve through this whole lead into the camp, through the tournament.

“We’re putting a plaster over different things and giving young players opportunities. We’re somehow finding a way.

“I can imagine how everybody is going to react to that, even though we’ve won. But we’re still in there and the one thing that can’t be questioned is the desire, the commitment, the character.”