Southgate backs England to crack the big game code
…but poor record against the elite must improve if Three Lions are to win Euros
THE last step is often the hardest to take. Just ask Gareth Southgate. England are good. But are they good enough? The consensus within the football community is a resounding yes.
It is a natural conclusion to reach — this is a squad bursting with talent.
Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka would walk into most teams in the world. Kyle Walker, Declan Rice, Phil Foden and John Stones would be banging on that door, too.
The conveyor belt of talent shows no signs of relenting, either. Kobbie Mainoo, who doesn’t turn 19 until next month, is hopeful of making his full international debut against Belgium tonight.
And then there’s the boss. For all the criticisms Southgate has, more often than not, found the answers when necessary.
That will never placate those who have advanced the narrative that England will win nothing under Southgate. On the whole, the evidence flies in the face of the negativity.
Southgate does not require any acceptance from the naysayers, but even so he realises there are improvements still to be made.
Most of the criticism levelled at him is linked to England’s performances in the biggest matches — those acid tests against world football’s elite that expose your frailties and make your strengths harder to assert.
Saturday’s defeat by Brazil, fifth in FIFA’s world rankings, is a case in point. England, who are third, weren’t blown away. They dominated large sections of the game. But, ultimately, they lost.
Since September 2016, England have faced 23 matches against teams ranked in the world’s top 10. They have won seven, losing 10 and drawing six.
So, ahead of tonight’s game against Belgium, who are ranked fourth, those concerns will return to the fore.
A second successive Wembley defeat would only reinforce fears that England lack the je ne sais quoi needed to get over the line against the very best.
Southgate, though, believes his team are close to cracking the big-game code.
‘The game the other night was an example,’ he said. ‘We were around four short of our starting team — five after Kyle Walker went off — but we had 54 per cent of the ball, compared to 34 when we played Brazil in 2017.
‘Possession doesn’t win matches but it gives you control of games and it means that you feel as a team you have that control and a different feel in a game, where at times over the years we have just had to sit back and counter-attack.
‘We were the ones trying to move the game. Their big moments came in transition; they have that devastating forward line which is as good as anything we are going to play in world football.
‘I know that record against the top-tier teams has had to improve and has done from 2019. We beat Belgium at Wembley (in 2020), for example. We are progressing in that aspect. We have a study of top teams against top teams and so many of those games are drawn and really tight.
‘France over the last seven or eight years have been the only ones to regularly nail those games. We have been, like Spain, win one, lose one, draw one. We are not getting turned over by those teams over the piece. We have had to learn along the way in some key matches. The general trend is one of improvement.’
Against Belgium, much like in Saturday’s loss, England’s chances will be hampered by a raft of selection headaches that Southgate claims is the worst he has known as England boss.
This is a source of frustration for Southgate. These games were supposed to set the tone ahead of Euro 2024. Big wins against big opposition. Instead, England are, literally, limping towards the finals in Germany due to a string of injury withdrawals that will see Southgate select a side tonight
that has virtually no resemblance to the team he intends to pick against Serbia for the first game of the Euros.
On the other hand, opportunities are presenting themselves.
Ivan Toney is set to make his first start for England this evening, in what is effectively an audition to be Harry Kane’s understudy this summer.
There were indications last night, too, that Manchester United wonderkid Mainoo will have an opportunity to impress.
If he starts, Southgate believes the teenager can handle the occasion. ‘He seems very calm,’ he said. ‘You can see he is taking everything in. Talking to him tactically, he seems able to take all those concepts on.
‘You can see his comfort with the ball and when receiving in tight areas. There are a lot of steps being taken in a very short period of time but you saw some of the qualities he has in the brief cameo the other day.
‘I think he is doing really, really well for a young player. Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney were world stars at 17 or 18.
‘I played with both of those when they arrived. Wayne was one of the best we have had.
‘Kobbie is still developing. We are really happy to see how he has dealt with training and we see things he can bring already.
‘But I am mindful that we have to look after him and make sure his development is at the right speed but that the opportunities are there as well.’