Gareth Southgate was a defender as a player. It shows when he is in charge as England coach.
Many have praised his time in the role due to reaching the semi finals in Russia 2018 and how we have negotiated the way through to the quarter finals of Euro 2020. He has brought a sense of belief to a relatively young set of players who have displayed a calmness and a togetherness absent in so many past England sides. And the remark about him being a defender is not a dig. Kevin Keegan was a striker and it showed in his career as a coach. With England that ended in tears.
In the aforementioned World Cup, England were extremely fortunate in being in the weaker side of the draw. Thrashing Panama in the group stages and beating Sweden in the quarter finals were hardly big hurdles to get over. While they dominated Croatia early on in the semi final, they went out as Southgate’s naivety was exposed. In an outstanding demonstration of game management, Croatia were comfortable letting the younger and supposedly fitter England have plenty of possession which apart from Kieran Trippier’s wonderful free kick goal, they squandered.
There was a period in the second half where it became clear England were in a precarious position with their more experienced opponents making inroads. Change was needed but Southgate deliberated and only once Croatia had scored did the pace of Rashford get introduced with Sterling going off.
It felt like history might be repeating itself against the Czech Republic and Germany in this tournament. Southgate sticks to his opening gambit which can make for a tense and obdurate affair when the margins are so tight. Southgate appears to set up with a “don’t concede and wait and see” approach. In fairness, while that cost him in Russia, it has arguably been the way to reach the quarter finals this year. However, this “wait and see” outlook did look destined to take the match with Germany to extra time and penalties.
What was frustrating was how long he delayed the removal of youngster Saka who, after a lively first half hour, struggled to get into the game and, with Harry Kane looking subdued, meant there was no threat down the right despite deploying wing backs in a back five. Jack Grealish was eventually introduced in Saka’s place and it freed up Sterling who suddenly could attack from the right and link with the Villa midfielder. The substitution was rewarded with two goals in the latter stages of the game yet had Jordan Pickford not successfully bluffed Thomas Muller when he was through on goal and seemed destined to score at 1-0, Southgate’s conservatism might have backfired.
Of course when England win these tight games at tournaments: Tunisia, Colombia, Czech Republic, Croatia (in the Euros group stage), Germany and Sweden, Southgate is declared a coaching mastermind and when he loses games in a similarly close way: Belgium, Croatia, we question his decisions. That both England’s wins and losses are marginal demonstrates how solid we are at the back but it also suggests that Southgate isn’t getting the most out of the attacking talent he has been able to call on. The feeling remains that if he was less reactive and less ponderous, England might have made lighter work of games against Colombia, Tunisia, Germany, Czech Republic and Croatia while getting to the World Cup final and not suffering two defeats by Belgium in Russia.
Southgate shows faith in his regulars and that mostly pays off, in particular with Sterling and Pickford at this tournament. However it is puzzling why Dominic Calvert Lewin who could be an ideal target man for Sterling, Mount, Foden and Grealish to play around has yet to feature more than a minute and Marcus Rashford is being mothballed when Harry Kane has looked like he’s carrying an injury and keeps dropping deep which means there’s nobody to spearhead the attack.
In Russia, as England were fortuitous regarding who they faced in the run up to that ill-fated semi-final, one hoped they might catch fire at some stage and really give one of Colombia or Sweden a hiding, to set down a marker and give the players confidence and enjoyment that would sustain them when better sides came along like Croatia or France. In reality, the dismantling of lowly Panama was as good as it got and completely misleading as to how lethal in front of goal England really were. Similar has happened this time around which brings us to the quarter final with Ukraine.
Many will say that no international game at a tournament is comfortable and indeed such complacency could result in a defeat. There are many examples of sides who have won tournaments by playing in this conservative fashion; Portugal, Greece, Italy all come to mind in 2016, 2004 and 2006 respectively, yet there are plenty of victorious sides who have handed out dominant performances laden with panache and goals like Spain who won back to back European Championships book ending a World Cup and the German side who won the next title in 2014 or the Netherlands in 1988.
This isn’t calling for all out attacking football. Yes, the old adage is that “attack is the best form of defence” and to some extent England look a little too keen to soak up pressure at times. Belgium are the poster boys for this type of philosophy, the “we’ll score more goals than you” approach but if England reach the semi-finals of Euro 2020, their recent tournament form will be superior. That goes to show that Southgate’s approach is undeniably effective.
But there is a concern that this marginal style of football will be looked at by Ukraine as a way of bringing England down much like Colombia nearly did and Croatia did in Russia. Knowing that England rely on these fine margins, they will try nicking a goal or taking it to penalties. Their coach Shevchenko will also likely use his striker’s instinct to have his players shooting from range with the hope of testing Pickford or getting a lucky ricochet. Therein lies the risk of Southgate’s tactics; you are only ever one deflection, a red card, a wonder goal or a penalty away from being in big trouble.
Therefore one hopes that against Ukraine, England go out to win the game on the front foot. Not to wait and hope a goal arrives. For Southgate to spot what isn’t working on the pitch and ring the changes immediately, not hesitate for 10 minutes so that we get closer to extra time and penalties. For Southgate to realize that his tactics and line up have gone stale and give the opposition a new problem like a Rashford or a Foden instead of letting the game meander and the heads of the players go down. He doesn’t always have to wait until just after the 60 minute mark to make the substitutions.
This call for more flair and aggression might not age well should England get past Ukraine with a similar line up and formation used against Germany with the same score. But it could be the last chance to play this way, the last time the players can fully express themselves before things get serious deeper into the tournament when banking the experience and confidence from a bright and dominant display in the quarter finals could be invaluable for the squad.
Athon 