England

AGE- GROUP CHAMPIONS ARE COMING OF AGE

In their first Euros outing in 1968, England finished third, of four teams. They’re still waiting to improve on that.

Only Belgium and the old Yugoslavia could claim to have performed better at European Championships without winning one. England have been international football’s big underachievers since 1966, from home- soil heroes to the failed Golden Generation. The Three Lions have won one knockout game in the history of this competition. On penalties. As hosts.

Five years ago, they crashed out to Iceland; as the song goes, we’d seen it all before. What followed, though, was new: an unofficial remodelling of English football, led by some of the greatest minds in the game. Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Marcelo Bielsa all arrived, followed by a cast of club legends making early forays into management. Together, they’ve helped to reshape the country’s tactical make- up into something more modern. An Icelandic volcano turned English football to rubble, but something unprecedented has risen from it.

There’s hope for the class of 2021. The Three Lions’ current pride isn’t an empty collection of big names – there are still titans of elite European sides, but vitally, there’s a balance that seems to have evaded the national team for 55 years. England finally have defensive midfielders and left- footers. A smattering of the current XI are captains of their clubs. The country’s youth- level champions of recent years are coming of age, giving Gareth Southgate genuine selection migraines. For many, England’s talent reserves are the envy of Europe.

Since 2018, the pragmatism of Southgate’s World Cup semi- finalists has come to the fore: they are prepared to win ugly, even if a squad packed with attacking verve suggests otherwise. If anything, the 12- month postponement of Euro 2020 has worked in England’s favour, too, as so many young Lions have received a year’s extra education before the big tournament.

Could the stars align? We haven’t seen a crop quite like this for some time, and while England doesn’t quite expect, there’s plenty of serious promise.

Euro 2020 may be a bridge too far for Southgate’s charges, but their journey over the last five years shows they’re on the right track. If they can shake off the nation’s tag as perennial underachievers in football, then immortality awaits.

LESSON FROM QUALIFYING

It’s hard to learn much from a campaign that sees a team score 37 times in eight games. The only time Southgate’s men didn’t rack up four or more was in losing to the Czech Republic – England’s first qualifying defeat since 2009 – and they’ll face Tomas Soucek & Co again in the final group game. As 2016 showed, there can be no room for complacency even if England are into the last 16 by then.

STRENGTHS

England’s depth in attack is extraordinary. Beyond Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, who each made more goal contributions than any other players in Euro 2020 qualifying, there’s Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho – talismanic for their clubs – as well as Phil Foden and Mason Mount, while Jack Grealish was a Premier League Player of the Season candidate before his injury in February. This side has bottle, too – they’re even winning penalty shootouts.

WEAKNESSES

While they amaze in attack, they’re less sure at the back. Jordan Pickford has made high- profile howlers since the last World Cup, while the centre- backs, John Stones and Harry Maguire, have suffered fluctuating club form in that period. Each, though, has been more solid of late.

MOST LIKELY TO...

Get your hopes up. Regardless of how it always ends, England lift the country at the start of a major tournament. Opening well against their conquerors in 2018, Croatia, would send fans into overdrive.

LEAST LIKELY TO...

Win a semi. Final- four failures in the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Nations League took England to four semi- final showdowns since 1966, and nary a final reached.

WHAT THEY HOPE WILL HAPPEN

Post- lockdown parades, as football finally ‘ comes home’. How often have England been pre- tournament favourites? Ever?

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

Southgate’s England consistently beat the teams you’d expect them to beat, but not much more. They’ll have to topple at least one giant to reach a Wembley semi – two if they top Group D. Too much, too young?