‘a semifinal and a final ain’t bad’ – yes it is, if you’re a world cup winning team. England, decidedly, are not.
For the 2021 Euros I created a family pool, we all chucked a tenner into the pot then each picked 2 teams out of the hat and they would be our teams for the competition – win or lose. I picked Italy and Bulgaria. I developed a strange loyalty to the two teams and ultimately won the pot. However, this is when I began to unpick England as a unit despite having supported them up until they lost to Croatia in the last world cup. I was Southgate out, I discovered an immense lack of faith in Harry Kane as a star striker and how defensively frail England were.
Sat at the island in my partner’s kitchen, the family all around me feasting on the Chinese takeaway we’d ordered in the run up to the final. England versus Italy. I went back and forth with one of the most brilliant men [and a diehard England supporters] I know about how unequipped England were to win the Euros. A year later and nothing has changed – Gareth Southgate wasn’t good enough then and he’s not good enough now. We watched the final together and I didn’t remember feeling scared because I knew Italy were excellent at scoring goals. And penalties.
We will call Harry Kane world class but often watch underperform without Heung Min Son by his side. A striker that needed 3 games to warm up before a goal was scored. World class but is often left out of conversations with the likes Benzema, Messi, Lewandowski, Neymar, Mbappe, Ronaldo, Haaland, Salah, Aguero, Ronaldhino – Kane’s penalty record aside, of course. Great but perhaps not amazing which is okay so long as we can collectively face it. Maybe we’re just not playing in a style which suits him but if you’re world class, you’re scoring goals on the biggest stages and in the most crucial moments. I do not trust Harry Kane to carry England forward when they’re a goal or two down and I can’t say the same about the names above.
This might be the best England squad I’ve seen since the original golden generation comprised of the likes of Lampard, Ferdinand, Gerrard etc. I fear their best chance of winning the Euros or World Cup has been squandered at the hands of a manager clearly out of his depth. England didn’t reach a semi final and a final because Southgate is a great manager but rather he was along for the ride with a squad of incredibly talented players. Players who can arguably walk into most teams around the world and improve them. Southgate brought on 3 players in the 120th minute of the final and had them take penalties without getting a feel for the game first.
The likes of Rashford, Sancho, Kane, Mount, Grealish, Maddison, Foden, Saka, DCL and Sterling are an attacking force to be reckoned with on their own. England play as though they’re chained to a rigid defensive setup game after game. A goal up and the incentive to go for another and close the game off dissipates as the fear of conceding takes hold. All of sudden, 11 men in white shirts flood our own half and constantly invite pressure as if they know the equaliser and or loss is inevitable. Often it is because spending 70 minutes in your own half and relentlessly trying to keep a clean sheet will break confidence as goals are conceded. Game after game and the defensive set up fails everyone – the strikers have to stay back, the pressure keeps coming, the goals slips through, the confidence breaks which perpetuates the cycle since we have to defend even harder next time. It will always be better to know you can get a goal or two when the chips are down.
Southgate does not utilise the strength of our strikers nearly enough to instill confidence in this squad. Instead, the focus on our back line with the likes of Maguire and Mings who are prone to making mistakes leading to goals continue to start. Southgate would not cut it to manage City, United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs or Liverpool because he’s not good enough. So, why do we continue to allow him to manage the best talent from top teams? There was a collective sigh of relief when France were knocked out because we knew they would beat us. We hosted the Euros. When I think about how Muller could have scored, I remember how we stopped Germany training at Wembley before the game. It’s all well and good to say ‘you can only beat what’s in front you’ but it won’t detract from the clearly easier route we had to the final. Every time they face a decent opponent – they struggle.
England won’t win the world cup. England were kicked out of the Nation’s league. England probably won’t beat Italy in the qualifiers for the next Euros. The expectations need to be higher. The team needs to be ruthless in order to flourish and it will never happen unless we start attacking continuously during games. Talk about how great Southgate has been for team unity has always been farcical because it’s such a bare minimum requirement. Mancini must have been incredible in uniting Italy considering their long unbeaten run and then win the damn thing. I would argue unless Southgate leads England to convincing wins at every step henceforth he has to go. Or, we’ll squander the talent and ability of this generation and only have ourselves to blame for it.
Tuchel is probably the best bet for England at the moment. I just hope I don’t draw England for the World Cup pool this year. I believe, or rather want to believe, they can win. They’re just not there, yet.
poeliticaljazz 