SHAME OLD STORY
Familiar failings will end Southgate’s bid
THE look on the face of Gareth Southgate after England’s crushing defeat to France in Paris spoke volumes about the current state of the national side.
Facing the media in the bowels of the Stade de France, Southgate looked both crestfallen and frustrated. He’s not daft. He knows that being the England manager is like having to push water uphill. Like he said, there is no magic wand to wave across a squad of players who can excel at club level but are found wanting against the best on the international stage. He had just watched England take the lead against the French with a sublime team goal that offered a tantalising glimpse of what they are capable of. Then normal service was resumed. Even when France had Raphael Varane sent off moments into the second half, Southgate’s men still couldn’t beat the 10 men. The hosts got stronger and England got weaker, unable to fathom out how to dominate a game in which they had such a decisive advantage. England will reach the World Cup in Russia, then their old failings will come back to haunt them. The cycle is both depressing and familiar but what is even more demoralising is the fact Southgate is destined to be powerless to change it. Some light has appeared towards the end of the long, dark tunnel following the England Under-20 side’s stunning triumph at their World Cup on Sunday. But the success of Paul Simpson’s boys raised a glaring flaw in English football.
In Paris, England were taken to the cleaners by the dazzling skills of teenager Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.
Mbappe is 18. Dembele is 20. Both play at the highest level on a weekly basis, including the Champions League, for Monaco and Borussia Dortmund respectively.
Unlike these two, most of Simpson’s squad don’t get a game for their club sides in the Premier League, let alone Europe, which explains why none of them are remotely close to Southgate’s senior squad.
Credit
This has to change or nothing will. In the meantime, Southgate has less than 12 months to build a side for Russia but doesn’t know who his best goalkeeper is, whether to play a back four or three and is without genuine options in defensive midfield.
Once again, England are breezing through their qualification group but in three friendlies against Spain, Germany and France, not one of them has been won.
Southgate deserves credit for picking tough opponents and avoiding a comfort zone that can mask the genuine status of a team like his.
The downside is that the decision provides a clear reminder of how far behind the big guns England still are.
Once again, we saw the hallmark of England – and the narrative provides the same old story.