On the road to the final, Gareth Southgate has had to rectify systems (4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and 3-4-2-1) and players to try to improve the poor play displayed by England throughout the tournament. Of their six games, only the first half of the opening game against Serbia, a mere 15-minute stretch in the quarter-finals against Switzerland and the first 45 minutes of the semi-finals against the Netherlands can be described as acceptable. England has tried to dominate the games by having a high level of ball possession (58.8%, the third in the championship and slightly higher than Spain, 57.6%), but has been timid.
The rule of not taking risks in passing has made England a predictable and blunt team. Their football has had such low peaks that the English fans themselves threw beer and booed Southgate and his players after the draw against Denmark (1-1) in the last game of the group stage. Jude Bellingham, with his miraculous bicycle kick in the last minute against Slovakia in the round of 16, avoided the catastrophe. Since that game in which Foden confessed that he saw himself at home “bottle-feeding” his newborn son, England has gone from less to better, but without rounding off a complete performance.
England have had more defensive solidity than damaging attacking inventiveness. Given their roster, collectively and individually, more was expected. When they have found themselves behind on the scoreboard (Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands) that is when they have created the greatest sense of danger.
Good Pickford and doubts with the drawing
Everton’s eccentric goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has made some worthy saves that have prevented major problems. He is commanding, very active and well positioned to keep his distance from the high defence that Southgate uses. He has alternated between a back four with Stones and Guéhi as centre-backs, Kyle Walker on the right and the right-footed Kieran Trippier, due to Luke Shaw’s injury, on the left. Trippier, playing with his other foot, has offered little depth. At times, Southgate has tried with three centre-backs without much success, adding Walker to the defensive axis and leaving Saka and Trippier as wing-backs. In any case, the English coach always makes sure that at least five of his players stay in defence and watch man-to-man to avoid counterattacks.
Better with Rice and Mainoo, against a bad Arnold as pivot
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is in charge of the defensive balance and starting the plays together with the centre-backs. He is very solid defensively, and he works well with the ball because Southgate has not wanted to take risks. Liverpool right-back Alexander Trend-Arnold started alongside him. Southgate copied an idea from Klopp, but the experiment failed after trying it in the first three games. Gallagher did not work as a partner for Rice either, and it was the audacity of the young Kobbie Mainoo (19 years old) who took over the position because he asks for the ball and risks more when passing.
Foden, better on the right than on the left
Until the semi-final, Phil Foden had not been able to shine. Southgate had him playing very tightly on the left. Against the Netherlands, he started him on the right and gave him freedom, as Guardiola does at City. The result was his most convincing performance. In the rest of the tournament, he almost always dropped back to receive the ball, or vice versa.
Kane, unassisted, but always a threat
He has scored three goals, one from a penalty, without his teammates creating too many chances for him. He has suffered the most from the poor play and individualism of Foden, Bellingham and Saka. He has had to spend a lot of time playing as a reference, so he has rarely been seen to drop back to filter passes or make changes of direction. He is a goalscorer with a supine instinct and that is always a threat.
Cole Palmer and the weight of substitutes
Southgate has been so insistent on the importance of substitutes that he even called them “match-finishers”. Cole Palmer, Chelsea’s attacking left-footed midfielder, is England’s most game-changing reserve at critical moments. Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) has also revolutionised play when he has come on. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) was instrumental with his goal in the semi-final against the Netherlands. Even Ivan Toney (Brentford) had his moment as a specialist. Southgate brought him on against Slovakia to head in the near post for a throw-in that Bellingham finished off with his overhead kick.
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