HOW ENGLAND CAN TAKE THE FINAL STEP
EURO 2020 starts in 12 months and England will enter the tournament — provided they qualify — as one of the favourites.
The improvement of the national team under Gareth Southgate is unquestionable. Fourth place in last summer’s World Cup was followed up with a bronze medal in the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
But what do England have to do to take the final step to ultimate glory? Sportsmail analyses where there is room for improvement.
MIDFIELD POSSESSION
IT seems we talk about this issue every year but the role of midfield linchpin — the man who can dictate the game like Andrea Pirlo used to — remains the position in England’s starting XI that is causing Gareth Southgate the biggest problem.
Jack Wilshere was supposed to be the answer — who knows, he still might be one day, although his injuries appear to suggest his England days are over.
Now we are pinning our hopes on Harry Winks, who missed the Nations League due to a lack of fitness. The Tottenham star certainly possesses the attributes to control a game, he has done it at the top level in club football.
The start to his international career has been promising and Southgate will hope he is the one to solve his midfield conundrum.
Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Leicester’s James Maddison are emerging as alternatives.
PLAN WITHOUT KANE
WHEN fit, Harry Kane starts. But Southgate needs to develop an alternative approach if things are not going according to plan.
The fact England scored once, thanks to a penalty, in 240 minutes of football here in Portugal carries obvious concerns. They carved out enough opportunities to win two matches against Switzerland on Sunday but could not take a single one — even with Kane.
Marcus Rashford has shown he can step up to score at international level, while Raheem Sterling has improved in that department. But unless England can find a viable plan B then the over-reliance on Kane will hinder the team.
Once Callum Hudson- Odoi returns to fitness, his potency from wide will add another weapon.
REPLICATE LIVERPOOL
MORE and more in modern football, the difference comes from the full back areas — Liverpool roaring to Champions League glory underlined that. The impact of Trent Alexander- Arnold and Andy Robertson for the Merseysiders last season was profound.
Southgate must replicate that as best he can. That means Alexander-Arnold must replace Kyle Walker as England’s firstchoice right back for the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.
His performance against Switzerland on Sunday was excellent and his delivery from wide areas posed a threat for England.
The answer at left back is not so clear. Ben Chilwell is in possession of the shirt at the moment, but it is fair to say he does not offer the same level of productivity in the attacking third.
That said, the Leicester full back looks comfortable in the opposition’s final third and with Ryan Sessegnon hopeful of breaking into the senior set-up next season, Southgate could have his own version of Liverpool’s dynamic duo.
DEFENSIVE DILEMMA
TO go all the way in a tournament you must be defensively solid and it struck a chord when Ronald Koeman referred to Portugal as ‘The Masters’ of protecting a 1-0 lead. Would you bet your life on England holding firm under pressure? At present, the answer is no.
England have played 21 times since March 2018 and the clean sheet against Switzerland on Sunday was their eighth in that period. It was the fourth since Southgate reverted to a flat back four last September but only the first in a competitive fixture.
Southgate needs a settled central axis. He has used six different partnerships in the last nine matches but the one you would think of as first choice — John Stones and Harry Maguire — looked vulnerable and Joe Gomez is now applying pressure to be a regular starter.
Jurgen Klopp is expected to use Gomez as Virgil van Dijk’s partner next season and Southgate has followed his progress from the age-group levels.
OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUTH
THE Under 21 European Championships begin on Sunday and Southgate will be in Italy to follow Aidy Boothroyd’s squad, who are in a group with France, Romania and Croatia.
Ben Chilwell and Jordan Pickford graduated from the 2017 squad in Poland and it will be fascinating to see who steps up in front of Southgate and Les Reed, the new technical director.
Southgate said: ‘There are some super, promising players and I want to see them play under the bit of pressure that being in a tournament creates. It’s important for their development.’
The ones most likely to develop are Foden, Mason Mount and Aaron Wan-Bissaka but do not be surprised if Leicester pair Maddison and Demarai Gray receive opportunities in the next 12 months.