Shape of things to come
in possession. An inability to retain the ball has been among England’s principal weaknesses in recent tournaments — although Roy Hodgson made some progress in this area during his tenure — and one encouraging aspect here was that England actually ensured a greater share of the ball than their opponents at 51 per cent.
That might appear a marginal gain — especially given Germany’s lackadaisical approach to the contest — but it compares well with England’s last two visits here.
Last year’s 3-2 win was achieved with just 32 per cent possession while the figure in the 2-1 success of 2008 was 45 per cent.
England are not blessed with great strength in depth defensively but there are several players thriving in wing-back roles and a number of creative midfielders excelling at club level and so it is not difficult to see the logic in Southgate’s assertion 3-4-2-1 suits his existing options.
Dele Alli was England’s stand-out performer with Adam Lallana unfortunate not to score operating alongside him behind lone striker Jamie Vardy. Ross Barkley could easily be accommodated into this system andd it will please Southgate that Michaelael Keane adapted so quickly onn his debut despite not playing in a three-man defence at Burnley. y.
Several personnel changes are expectedted for Sunday’s World Cupp qualifier against Lithuania — one is enforced as
Gary Cahillll is suspended — and it may be thathat Southgate reverts to a more traditional 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation.ation.
But Lithuaniauania are likely to sit deep and demand England break themm down, a challenge that Spurs among others have used a 3-4--2-1 system to overcome on occasion.
It is too early in Southgate’s’s reign to determinee a clear picture ure but an injection of fresh ideas was exactly what Englandand required lastast night after the failure of Euro 2016016 and the Sam Allardyce debacle.
This felt like a useful start.
The injection of fresh ideas was exactly what England required after Euro 2016 and the Sam Allardyce debacle