England have struggled for form during their opening two games of Euro 2024 and despite the Three Lions looking safe for a spot in the next round, Gareth Southgate now needs to start making brutal calls
It’s where you finish, not how you start.
England’s two performances at Euro 2024 have been well below par, but it is important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. At the World Cup in Qatar, they took four points from their first two games after demolishing Iran and a drab 0-0 draw with the United States – and they went on to the quarter-finals.
And at Euro 2020, they took four points again from a solid but unspectacular win against Croatia and another 0-0 draw with Scotland – and they went on to reach the final. So while I can understand the negativity, and there was a torrent of it on Six-0-Six on Thursday night, there is no need to panic.
They have four points from two games again. I have no doubt England will qualify for the knockout stage, and they will probably top the group. But they may have to sacrifice one or two big hitters, either by starting with them on the bench or changing things up after 60 minutes, to get the balance right.
So far, they remind me of the days when Sven-Goran Eriksson played Paul Scholes on the left flank because he had to accommodate Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the middle. You’re not going to get the most out of your best players if you don’t play them in their best position.
But Kieran Trippier, a right-back, has been playing left-back, Phil Foden has been playing on the left when he is most effective in the middle and the experiment of playing Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield hasn’t worked.
I think the omission of Marcus Rashford from the squad looks more like a mistake by the day because his pace would have been such an asset in a side which has looked too static. You can’t manufacture pace, you can’t go out and buy it off the shelf at your local supermarket. As a player, I always hated being up against pace – because if you can’t catch an opponent, you are always struggling.
What changes should England make vs Slovenia? Share your thoughts in the comments below
I’m not going to sit here and criticise Gareth Southgate because a lot of people are on his case and nearly all of them know nothing about international management, so one more voice carping from the sidelines isn’t going to solve his problems overnight. But when I look at the make-up of the side, and listen to him reference the absence of Kalvin Phillips, I have to ask: Why do England need two defensive midfielders?
Two anchors sitting in front of the back four means the team is weighted defensively, so you are not going to get the most out of all the attacking options. Then you have to decide if you want a full-on press without the ball – which means pressing from the front, starting with Harry Kane at centre-forward.
Is Kane fully fit? By his high standards, he looked laboured and ineffective against Denmark. So for Tuesday’s final group match against Slovenia, here’s what I would do.
I would go 4-3-3, with an unchanged back four (where Marc Guehi has been very impressive), with Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden in midfield – Bellingham and Foden more advanced and Rice playing the minesweeper at No.6.
Up top, although Bukayo Saka has done nothing wrong, I would start Cole Palmer on the right – after 22 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League last season, he needs minutes – with Kane in the middle and Anthony Gordon’s pace on the left.
And if you need to press Slovenia for the last half-hour, bring Ollie Watkins off the bench, with Saka and Eberechi Eze or Jarrod Bowen on either side, for fresh legs and energy. Whichever route he chooses, Southgate has some difficult choices to make – and he is paid handsomely to make them. But England have too much quality in their squad to be written off. They have players to do better, so the answer lies within.
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