How the English national team have recaptured the hearts of a nation and why success is just around the corner…
As the dust settles on England’s crushing defeat to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2020 final almost a month ago, evaluating the performance of Gareth Southgate’s men can prove to be a difficult task. Is it right to be full of praise for a team who have essentially fallen at the final hurdle, or is reaching the mens national teams first final in over 55 years a great achievement in itself? In previous years after countless tournament disappointments I have found myself questioning many England teams mentality, their desire to win and their reason for having so many excuses. Simply put, for me it has never been a question of quality for England, but a question of mentality. Those little streetwise things you do in tournaments to buy some time, that application that nations such as Italy or Germany never lack when it comes to representing their country and a cohesion to prove that nobody is larger than the team itself.
A great example of this difference in mentality is shown in the constant repetition of the idea that club rivalry was more important to England stars of previous generations than representing England. Whilst this may have some truth to it I believe it to be more of an excuse than a valid reason for previous failures. After all, Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique won the World Cup and Euros together forming part of an outstanding defence, all whilst being bitter rivals domestically for well over a decade. I am not denying the ability of exceptional players like Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard who have all given rivalry as a reason in their punditry days when asked about England’s failures, more acknowledging other factors, such as poor management, an inability for certain managers to communicate ideas, better or more balanced opponents and the biggest factor in my eyes, the British media’s coverage of the national team. Under Gareth Southgate’s stewardship though, these excuses exist no more and the beauty of this England side is its character.
This group of supremely talented youngsters and brilliantly consistent veterans is not just amazing because of the individual players, but rather than sum of the parts as one group. From a tactical point of view, the team is well balanced and England are no longer cramming all of their best players into one first XI as was the case years ago. Reputation is no longer a key factor in terms of team selection, a great example of this was Bukayo Saka’s minutes played, after many expected him to struggle to start a game. As well as this, team selections seem to be based on performance in training, form of the previous season and talk from the media no longer impact the England bosses decision. This was best proved with Raheem Sterling this summer, who after a poor season by his high standards repaid Gareth’s trust with world class performances throughout the Euros.
Another factor that separates this group from the squads that have come before it is the amazing work done off the pitch by lots of members of the team. Marcus Rashford has displayed great maturity and courage to take on the government despite being met with hostile responses from several MPs and further abuse online. Raheem Sterling has worked tirelessly for a number of years to try to change attitudes on race, as well as acting bravely to call the media out on their targeted harassment of him, hoping to be a trailblazer for future young England stars so that they don’t have to experience the same ordeals. Jordan Henderson has championed equality and hasn’t shirked away from using his powerful voice as Liverpool captain and a senior player in the England setup to condemn discrimination of all kinds. These are just a few examples of players leading a new era of footballers who can perform on the pitch but also transcend the 90 minutes to help make positive societal changes. With that has come a new wave of support from the English public and even those beyond, who are more in love with the English national team than ever. The support over this Euros for England was heartwarming after what has been a soul destroying 18 months, I’d go as far to say this is the best relationship I’ve seen between the England team and its fans in my life. Rightly so, the English public and I can be truly proud of this group for more reasons than one.
Whilst the nation was heartbroken by the result on the 11th July at Wembley, I feel as though this isn’t the end of a journey that started at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but the start of something new. Regardless of whether Southgate stays on or not, this group of players are set to be together for another 2 tournaments at the very least, and I can confidently say that due to their level they will get to play the biggest international games again. These players deserve to be in Semi Finals and Finals and I believe they will find themselves there, due to the sheer talent running through the heart of English football, the strength in depth and the ever growing list of young players ready to fill the boots of this generation. These players will only learn from defeat and won’t be the sort to dwell. They have proven that they stand tall and unified in the face of adversity, and when one player is feeling the effects in a negative way, there will always be a quality replacement waiting to seize their opportunity. England should be looking forward to the future, the possibilities are endless.
However, in order to unlock the full potential of the English national team which by all means is winning tournaments, what needs to happen? That final step, what is it? As I mentioned earlier, the mentality of the players, coaches and manager alike needs to be spot on. No half hearted decisions, no pragmatism, more savvy instructions to see games out, a reinforcement that the results of the team are more important than any individual. As we saw in the post mortem of the Euros, Gareth Southgate was scrutinised for his treatment of Jack Grealish, particularly subbing him on and off again in the Semi Final against Denmark, and whilst Grealish is one of the best players in the country at the moment, it’s important to remember that the team always comes first, which unfortunately meant Grealish missed out a lot of the time. However, contrary to popular belief this wasn’t the result of some kind of personal vendetta between Southgate and Grealish, but more a way to balance the team. Whilst a front three of Grealish – Kane – Foden was excitingly anticipated by England fans, all three of these players want the ball played to their feet and often don’t run beyond the ball. Raheem Sterling for Jack Grealish and later Bukayo Saka for Phil Foden helped to find a perfect balance. Kane was able to pick the ball up in the deeper positions he has found himself occupy for Tottenham and feed the ball to the wide outlets. Another example of the team being placed ahead of individuals came in the form of Southgate’s 3-4-3, which was vital to England’s triumph over Germany in the Round of 16. Prior to the match though, many described the approach as cowardly and also wondered why with such great attacking assets, Southgate would play with one less attacker. However, systems win games as much as players do at times, and Germany’s wide overloads as seen in their demolition of Portugal in the group stage would have caused havoc against an English back four. With a three (five without the ball) England marshalled the German attackers expertly.
In fairness though, the right balance needs to be struck between matching systems of big teams that have a few major strengths, and simply giving the opponents an easy ride. Against Italy in the final, Southgate made the mistake of taking an early lead by demonstrating front foot, intricate and devastating attacking football but swiftly reverting to a more conservative approach which allowed the opposition to grow in confidence, in fact the Final was almost a repeat of the Semi Final against Croatia at the 2018 World Cup. This is the main tactical change that Southgate simply has to make, and luckily for him it is relatively simple, in fact to some nations it is just instinct. International football is played at a far lower tactical level than club football, I would argue that there were only two top managers at the Euros this summer, Spain’s Luis Enrique and Italy’s Roberto Mancini, for that reason the ability to let your players enjoy their football in a cohesive system often leads to great results. Southgate is very good at this, he has made the England camp a happy place where players want to be, promoted healthy competition and has more than a coherent system for the level required. Southgate just cannot repeating the same error under pressure, which is allowing his team to sit off the opponent, stop pressing and let the ball stay out of their possession for long periods. Top midfielders will and have taken advantage of this to England’s demise. Modric and Rakitic in 2018, Verratti and Jorginho in 2021, both duos had the same devastating impact. Allowing players of their quality on the international stage to dictate tempo is suicide and whilst I can see why Southgate tries to protect his leads in important games, this should only happen after around 70 minutes at the earliest, anytime before that and trouble will always find you.
As well as discussing tactical tweaks that could help to ensure England’s success in the future, another major factor for England are the outstanding players who will help to make dreams turn to reality. The list of young English players ready to make their mark in an array of positions only continues to grow, but I’d like to focus on one in particular who embodies this special group. When discussing a modern teenage phenomenon in all aspects, I look no further than Jude Bellingham. Bellingham made his first senior appearance at just 16 years and 38 days old and became Birmingham City’s youngest ever player in doing so. However, he didn’t just perform as a fringe player, in fact he was an integral part of the Championship side during the 19/20 season, making a staggering 41 appearances. He totalled just under 3,000 minutes in all competitions for Birmingham City that year prompting interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe. Bellingham eventually moved to Borussia Dortmund for £22M, and continued to defy the odds. He lit up Champions League games against the likes of Manchester City and played nearly 3,000 minutes once again. To top it all off he was called up to Southgate’s England squad for the Euros, becoming the youngest ever player to feature at the Euros at just 17. But why does this all matter? It sounds great of course, but behind the records Bellingham is an example of a player England are producing more and more of, despite being an outstanding case. Putting it into perspective, when Bellingham is just 26 he will already have a decade of experience whilst he enters his peak. Already a quality dribbler and passer over all distances, Bellingham is imposing and able to bully players 10 years his senior. He is (without sounding too dramatic) the perfect footballer. Young, potential to be complete, ready to learn, gaining experience with some of the best footballers on the planet and going through his journey with amazing coaches and guidance. Bellingham is a beaming light that illuminates just how good a position English football is in. Players like Bellingham will only ever make a managers job easier, and if the anything to win mentality is there for tournament football, the dressing room is harmonious, the players are elite and the tactics are imposing on matches with little consideration for the opposition then England are 99% ready to win big.
The final piece of the English jigsaw, the one that nobody on the footballing side can control, is the media. Whilst improvements are being made, they are happening too slowly as even at Euro 2020 some disgraceful stories were run on England’s stars such as Bukayo Saka and Kalvin Phillips. These stories were both non football related and contained completely irrelevant personal details on both players, particularly sensitive ones in Phillips case. As well as this for years it has felt as though the English national team and English press were always at war with each other, leading to players hiding things and not expressing themselves. Past players have spoke about a fear that certain stories would be published no matter their relevance or validity. In 2021 there are some signs that sections of the media are building bridges with the players, and at this summer’s Euros journalists and players competed at darts frequently at England’s training camp.
A continuation of these sorts of relations could be huge for certain players, especially those with far less experience in “blocking the noise out”. In the past, papers have caused rifts in countless England camps, revealed irrelevant yet sensitive details about players and managers personal lives and have heaped pressure on certain individuals who have had tough periods. England players seemed to play with hesitation, in the knowledge that any minor mistake would lead to an assassination by the media. This has slowly been erased bit by bit, with great credit due to Gareth Southgate for protecting his players as we saw after the loss on penalties in the final. Raheem Sterling also deserves high praise for fearlessly defending himself and others against slander. Whilst I feel our press should be honest there is a line between criticism that is warranted and a blame game being played. It is vital that the media play their part in England’s resurgence as much as anyone else, all parties acting as one team for a unified goal gives England the best chance of glory.
So is success approaching? I do believe that all parties discussed here today should be proud of themselves, especially the players. I am certain they will not become complacent and celebrating progress will keep them heading in the right direction. Tournament football can be unpredictable but with this talent and willingness to improve, I’m more confident than ever that the wait will be over soon.
Joe Writes Football 