Stranded: Hart (right) is left helpless as Barnetta doubles Switzerland's lead

In March, on the basis of a decent performance against Wales - ranked 114th in the world - a revival was deemed to be imminent. Against a side ranked 25th, it was exposed as utterly superficial. Just as familiar were the excuses.

'In the last 10 minutes some players were without energy and I understood that it is a difficult moment to play such a game,' said Capello. 'The Swiss played with more energy than us. In modern football, if you can't run and can't press it is difficult. The last 10 minutes I was really worried.'

In truth, it was not just the last 10 minutes that England failed to press their opponents with any discipline. Gokhan Inler and Xherdan Shaqiri revelled in the space afforded them.

At half-time, Frank Lampard was withdrawn and it felt like the beginning of the end of the midfielder's England career.

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