Gareth Southgate is contemplating a formation change for England ahead of the quarter-final.

The Three Lions manager has  his team just scrape into the quarter-finals of the current tournament, where they haven't won a game in regulation time since the opening day.

Southgate has stuck with a 4-2-3-1 formation throughout the Euros, with 10 players consistently in the starting XI, only struggling to settle on a permanent partner for Declan Rice, trying out Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher, and Kobbie Mainoo in midfield.

However, England have faced criticism for a lack of attacking creativity, a weak pressing game, and frequent sideways and backwards passing in their current setup, which hasn't brought out the best in some of their star players.

The left flank has been identified as a particular area of concern for the Three Lions, with Phil Foden often drifting centrally while Kieran Trippier has had to fill in for the injured Luke Shaw in all four of England's opening matches.

Despite Jude Bellingham scoring twice at the Euros, including a crucial bicycle kick against Slovakia in the round of 16, there's a consensus that his performances haven't been up to scratch either.

 England spent most of their Wednesday training session practicing with a three-man defense, a setup that Southgate is seriously considering deploying for Saturday's crucial match.

England are anticipated to line up with a three-man backline against Switzerland, who have impressed with Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji, and Ricardo Rodriguez shielding Yann Sommer.

In the group stage, Switzerland were moments away from defeating hosts Germany, only to be denied by a late equalizer from Niclas Fullkrug, and they deservedly knocked out reigning champions Italy in the round of 16.

If Southgate reverts to a three-man defense, he will be relying on the defensive system that took England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, although he will already be forced into one change.

In what will be his 100th match in charge, Southgate will have to manage without  Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, one of England's standout performers in the tournament so far.

Among several options to replace Guehi, Southgate is reportedly leaning towards Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa, who would join Kyle Walker and John Stones in front of Jordan Pickford.

The 53-year-old could opt for either a 3-4-3 formation or the 3-5-2 setup that they ended the Slovakia match with, with Ivan Toney pushing for a partnership with Harry Kane after an impressive cameo last time out.

The latter formation could see Bellingham, Foden, and Rice playing centrally, while Trippier and Bukayo Saka could potentially fill the wing-back roles; Saka notably finished the Slovakia game at left-back when needed.