Euro 2024 viewers were treated to a show on Thursday night.
A stunning combination combined with technical skill and electricity down the flanks to produce one of the tournament’s best performances to date. They were too good for a top-class player, one they faced in the semi-finals of Euro 2020.
If we were talking about England.
Enjoying Spain putting up with the Three Lions was a treat we all deserved. Luis de la Fuente’s side performed ‘as you would…’ for the English fans.
While Spain won 1-0 against Italy in what should have been a highlight, England escaped their second group game with a point. If their show in Gelsenkirchen draws concern, their show in Frankfurt warrants a post-mortem.
They may be top of Group C and on the brink of qualification, but the positive energy and momentum that defined previous competitions under Gareth Southgate is nowhere to be seen. Here are three things we learned from England’s 1-1 draw with Denmark.
England are doing worse, but the key to their woes so far has been a terrible, obsolete ‘newspaper’.
Southgate has shown the ability, especially outside of tournaments, to train a press like those seen every week at club level with wingers pressing inside and defenders arriving in high positions to prevent progress in wide areas. There used to be a lot more individualism than the Conservative zonal nonsense we’ve seen in Germany so far.
Against Denmark, England’s efforts off the ball were led by Harry Kane who had been struggling. Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka were also tasked with filling the gap in the wide areas – they did so with little success as the Danes kept getting to the wing-backs.
Jude Bellingham was very much in the middle, and pivot midfielders rarely jump to give up. At one point when Declan Rice was aggressive, the Arsenal midfielder won again and almost opened the scoring.
Instead, the midfielders were both too concerned about the Danish runners coming from midfield and diving deep. They were on top of their defense at times, with open spaces left in the middle of the park,
There was a a lot in problems that got out of hand which resulted in Kasper Hjulmand’s team enjoying the tournament more than they should have. England’s problems are systematic. Kane’s obvious fatigue is not a big problem.
Serbia caused all kinds of problems for England on Matchday 1 with their man-to-man pressure in the second half, forcing the Three Lions into long spells.
So it’s no surprise that Denmark, considering their brilliance off the ball, also made England suffer. The Danes’ press was not aggressive, but they managed to trap England in wide areas and forced them to make many construction errors. Southgate’s team struggled to combine without pressure due to a lack of options – another structural handicap – and they were also forced for long periods in an attempt to avoid dangerous clearances, which almost cost them.
Jordan Pickford completed 18 of his ‘long’ passes (over 30 yards), while Kyle Walker and Kieran Tripper, England’s full-backs, completed less than 85% of their passes. They had no way out of the sides.
The sub-par pitch didn’t help England’s form, but given the quality John Stones, Marc Guehi, Declan Rice, and Trent Alexander-Arnold have, they shouldn’t have too many different problems trying to get up. field.
Southgate has never been a celebrated tactician, but England’s recent success in tournaments has not been down to talent alone. The manager’s ability to create balance in his team and starting XI played a big role.
However, at the moment, England does not have that.
Odds on and off the ball may be low due to the lack of balance in the starting XI. Southgate has criticized the lack of a “natural” replacement for Kalvin Phillips, however he has Adam Wharton, a space stopper and a wonderful specialist, at his disposal.
The manager has other options that can provide a higher balance. England are in desperate need of Luke Shaw at left-back, with players willing to run in behind. England has so far been forced without stores for a long time.
Phil Foden’s relationship with Trippier is gone, and the absence of a left flank has plagued England. Their lack of balance going forward holds them back a lot, and Southgate needs to take a leaf out of Julian Nagelsmann’s book when trying to combine a number of incredibly talented players into one team.
READ MORE ENGLAND LATEST NEWS, QUOTES AND MATCH PREVIEWS
Source link
