Three’s not a magic number
GARETH Southgate said he decided more than a month ago to turn to a back three for England’s friendly against Germany last Wednesday, which ended in a 1-0 defeat. “I think [3-4-2-1) is the perfect system for the likes of [Adam] Lallana and [Dele] Alli, who are both very intelligent players, and it allowed us to press high up the pitch,” he said. “I decided six weeks ago that is what I was going to do … but we have to look at individual opponents because we can also play with out-and-out wingers.”
Back threes are evidently flavour of the month right now and it’s not surprising Southgate would jump on board. Not because he necessarily gets swept up in the fad, but rather because it’s easier for the public and players to swallow a change.
Two things about his choice feel decidedly counter-intuitive however. The first is that while this system seems tailor made for Lallana and Alli, it may not be as good a fit for England’s other attacking midfielders, whether it’s Raheem Sterling or Ross Barkley, or, indeed, for Harry Kane, assuming he gets the nod when he returns from injury.
There’s nothing wrong with having an alternative plan of course, but this feels like something that only works with specific personnel and against specific opponents. If England take on a less expansive team, particularly at home, it’s not clear that three centre-backs, plus two defensive midfielders, plus a defensive wing-back (Ryan Bertrand) would get the job done. Assuming the job is to get something other than a 0-0 draw.
The other issue is the availability and quality of centre-backs. It has become a cliche to say there’s a lack of top-notch centre-halves around and not just in England. It’s not necessarily something rooted in reality, although, in the specific case of England when you compare their options to, say, the 2006 World Cup squad – when Sven-Goran Eriksson could call upon Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Jamie Carragher and Sol Campbell – – there’s obviously no contest.
Back then, even though it would have allowed England to cram more of their better players on to the pitch, the back three wasn’t considered a serious option, mainly because they also had pretty good full-backs (Gary Neville and Ashley Cole) and Eriksson felt they were unused to the system.
The current group, other than Gary Cahill, is also generally unfamiliar with a back three. And, unlike then, there really isn’t much strength in depth. John Stones divides opinion and, in any case, plays an entirely different system at club level. Chris Smalling is fiercely one-footed and inconsistent. Michael Keane is hugely promising but, again, plays in an wholly different system at club level. Beyond that, you get into the realm of Phil Jones (injuryprone), Ben Gibson (uncapped) and Eric Dier ( who would then leave a hole in midfield).
It’s easy to poke holes in Southgate’s approach, but, relative to the past, he’s showing an ability and a willingness to look at different solutions. And, perhaps most of all, an understanding that Russia 2018 is 15 months away. It’s not just about results and performances now, it’s about projecting forward and imagining where these players will be come tournament time.
That may explain why we’re likely to see more of Keane and Gibson and less of Wayne Rooney.
GIGI Buffon won his 168th cap as Italy defeated Albania 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Friday night. It was also his 1000th appearance as a professional, dating back to his debut in November 1995. While that has attracted more attention because it’s a nice, round number, it’s the caps record that is truly stunning.
Buffon now has more caps than any other European player in history, passing Latvia’s Vitalijs Astafjevs and Spain’s Iker Casillas. The latter has not officially retired from international duty and, at 35, is three-and-a-half years younger than Buffon, but he hasn’t been in the Spain squad since Euro 2016, when he was an unused sub, and, with David de Gea firmly entrenched as La Roja’s No 1, it’s tough to see him adding to the total. Buffon is now fifth on the all-time list for international appearances. Therecordstandsat184 and belongs to Egyptian midfielder Ahmed Hassan, who retired in May 2012. Barring injury or loss of form, Buffon could catch him in 2019. It’s frankly remarkable when you consider injury kept him out of one major tournament (Euro 2000, where Italy made the final, playing Francesco Toldo in goal, and that, during his mid-20s, he battled depression.
Perhaps most impressive of all though is that Buffon had the thirtysomething wobble many goalkeepers experience. Casillas’s saw him ushered out of Real Madrid but Buffon has bounced back to the point that this season he’s arguably been as good as at any point in his career. Legend has it that he used to wear a Superman T-shirt under his jersey, partly for good luck, partly as a way of giving him confidence. He doesn’t need to anymore.
LOOK who’s back. Roaring back, in fact. Brazil followed up their 7-1 semi-final humiliation at Germany’s hands at the 2014 World Cup with a disappointing quarter-final exit from the 2015 Copa America and elimination in the group stage at the Copa America Centenario last summer.
Enter a new boss, the welltravelled Tite, who took over in July last year after Dunga’s second stint. Since then, Brazil’s record reads: Played seven, won seven, with 22 goals scored and just two conceded. The run includes victories over Colombia (twice) and Argentina, as well as, most recently, a 4-1 away thumping of Uruguay.
The new-look Brazil features a central midfield partnership who play in China (Renato Augusto and Paulinho, who notched a hat-trick against Uruguay); a talented goalkeeper who has played 90 minutes of league football since the start of 2016 (Alisson only plays for Roma in cup competitions) and an on-fire Neymar up front.
When Gabriel Jesus returns from injury, expect them to get even better. If they beat Paraguay on Tuesday, they could become the first team to qualify for 2018 . . . some 15 months before the start of the tournament.