England took a 2-0 first leg lead to Wohlen after victory at Shrewsbury’s Greenhous Meadow, and virtually wrapped up the tie after an exciting first half spectacle that saw three goals, a red card and a missed penalty.
Kelly Smith provided the game’s first major talking point. Smith, who broke the England Women’s goalscoring record with a goal in the first leg, missed a penalty early on but made amends by handing England the lead after 32 minutes.
Two minutes after Smith’s opener Eniola Aluko put England 2-0 up, finishing off a lovely move involving Smith and Fara Williams.
Switzerland’s Ramona Bachmann then gave the hosts a glimmer of hope with a goal in the 41st minute, before a moment of controversy resulted in a red card.
Bachmann’s histrionics left England with 10 women and manager Hope Powell made an immediate substitution, replacing Aluko with Siobhan Chamberlain and switching to a 4-4-1 formation.
The sending off had little immediate impact on England however. If anything they improved. Five minutes after half-time England won another penalty when Switzerland’s Noemie Beney was adjudged to have fouled Smith in the box.
Selina Zumbuhl’s 65th minute strike reduced the deficit to 3-2, but it was too little too late for the Swiss in Wohlen. England will play in the 2011 Women’s World Cup.
