Southgate has given England real identity... this isn’t the time to panic and rip up the template
GARETH SOUTHGATE must not be bounced into abandoning England’s style, passing the ball out from the back, just because of their double Dutch howlers.
If you ask your players to be brave on the ball, sometimes they are going to make mistakes or get caught out.
It is unfortunate for Southgate and especially defender John Stones, who was England’s fall guy in the 3-1 defeat by Holland, that costly errors surfaced in a Nations League semi-final.
But when Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said a couple of years ago that Stones had “more balls” than anyone, he was referring to the risks the defender is prepared to take in and around his own 18-yard box.
Nobody was complaining when Stones worked his way out of a tight corner and set up the move from which Jesse Lingard’s ‘goal’ was wiped out, by the smallest of margins, for offside by VAR.
If you want the national team to play with a dash of Pep’s style at City, you have to take the rough with the smooth.
One of Southgate’s greatest achievements so far has been to give his side an identity. One frustrating defeat is no reason to rip up the template.
It’s also easy to be wise after the event and say Southgate made a mistake by leaving the Liverpool and Tottenham players involved in the Champions League final five days earlier out of his starting line-up – while Holland picked Virgil van Dijk and Gini Wijnaldum. Only Southgate, his coaching team and medical staff really know how tired his players were after their exertions in Madrid.
You don’t pick an international team based on guesswork.
Would England have reached the final if Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson and Dele Alli had all started? Again, it’s pure conjecture. For me, two lessons stand out after Thursday’s disappointment for Southgate in Portugal. Firstly, after losing two semi-finals in a row after being 1-0 up – against Croatia at the World Cup and now in the Nations League against Holland – it suggests England are still climbing the mountain, but are not yet at the summit.
In midfield, they still lack a creative pivot who can do the job Luka Modric fulfils for Croatia and where Frenkie de Jong pulls so many strings for the Netherlands.
Of the options available to England, I feel Harry Winks (left) or Phil Foden – if he gets a good run of games for City under his belt – may be bestsuited to that role.
I was never convinced that Fabian Delph, Declan Rice and Ross Barkley, good players as they are, would have enough guile to open up the Dutch in Guimaraes.
And secondly, perhaps two defeats in semi-finals – where they lost the lead on both occasions – should be a reminder that nobody should be getting carried away by England yet.
Yes, their run to the last four in Russia last summer reconnected a nation with its footballers, but in the cold light of day Southgate’s men beat Tunisia, Panama, Colombia on penalties and Sweden.
They lost to Belgium – twice – and Croatia. It reminds me of City’s run to the FA Cup Final this season.
Southgate’s measured approach has been great for England and this is no time to start hammering him.
Every fan, pundit and player is entitled to an opinion on the way England play and this week I’ve heard a lot from champions of long-ball tactics – which can be very effective – to a legend who once played his goalkeeper up front!
But as we sign off for the summer – and thank you for all your messages, supportive or otherwise, in huge numbers all season – let’s get real.
England are still a long way from the mountain top.