THEY’RE THE BEST.. BUT THEY DON’T BELIEVE IT
Southgate has plenty of options but finding out the right blend in the middle will be key to Three Lions’ Euro hopes and ending that long wait for silverware
GARETH SOUTHGATE believes England have the best strike force in the world – but the players themselves do not believe it.
A 4-0 win over Bulgaria lifted England back to the top of European Championship qualifying Group A above Kosovo ahead of tomorrow’s meeting at St Mary’s Stadium.
After scoring 14 goals in three qualifiers, Southgate would not swap his strike force with anybody else’s. He said: “They are
THE world’s best strike force tore apart a weak Bulgaria side while an improving defence just about held firm for its clean sheet. But what of the midfield? Gareth Southgate’s remarkable and unexpected success as England manager has been built upon the meticulous way he has done his homework.
So if he is going to be triumphant on home soil when the really serious business of Euro 2020 starts next summer, he has nine months to complete the picture.
That is not to make little of the ease with which Harry Kane’s hat-trick and Raheem Sterling’s close-range effort got the job done against Bulgaria. Fourteen goals in three qualifiers – England have struggled to be so freescoring in the past. Glory, though, comes from beating the better teams. That is why Southgate will be focusing his thoughts on the middle of the pitch ahead of the tougher test of Kosovo in Southampton. “I didn’t like us without the ball,” he said. “I thought we were a bit too open when Bulgaria won the ball back and were able to keep possession. Their system caused us some problems. “But when you consider that a couple of years back, we were looking at the midfield thinking, ‘OK, which direction are we heading?’ Changing to a three has helped with those options.” By withdrawing Jordan Henderson early, the Liverpool captain looks to be a shoo-in for another start tomorrow. The substitution paved the way for Mason Mount to make an exuberant and confident debut and it emerged he had been instrumental in nailing down what looks like being another long-term solution in the midfield, ex-Ireland international Declan Rice. Mount said: “I was saying come to England, you need to play for England but it was down to him at the end of the day. He made the decision.
“Me and Dec and our families were so close having been together at Chelsea. We’ve just kept that going, and it is that friendship, that bond.
“We are like brothers. It is such a special feeling to play with him again and playing on the same pitch and him telling me what to do! You look at the squad, it is so exciting for English football. The future, we can do anything.”
The one thing on the agenda for most people is winning a senior trophy and Southgate is likely to juggle his options as he seeks a midfield unit that can dominate its rivals and, at the same time, provide a creative spark for the front three.
“There’s Harry Winks, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has come back,” he said. “He has the athleticism to work for the team but also has attacking power. Then there’s Phil Foden and we’ve got Ruben Loftus-Cheek as well.
“They all have different attributes. We’ve got creative players, we just have to get the balance right.”
Last September, Thiago Alcantara of Spain’s one-man demolition of the English midfield had Southgate bemoaning the lack of a world-class creative genius.
Ross Barkley tried his hardest on Saturday but only once found that real spark – the quick free-kick which led to Kane being fouled for the second penalty.
In all likelihood, James Maddison will be given his chance against Kosovo after Southgate has assessed his players’ recovery in the morning. The England manager may have that front three, but he is still looking for the missing piece of the jigsaw.