He’s doing great but must learn from errors
GARETH SOUTHGATE made his first mistakes of this World Cup against Colombia. England did brilliantly to get through and Gareth has handled everything very well so far, but his substitutions in normal time were negative and put his side on the back foot. He can’t afford for that to happen again in this tournament and if he does it against Sweden it will play right into their hands.
I hate to be critical of Gareth and I hope he sees this as being constructive. He should have brought on Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Marcus Rashford for Raheem Sterling and Dele Alli.
The decision to bring on Eric Dier shifted England’s momentum and attacking threat and I don’t believe Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane work as a two, especially when Kane is forced to drop deeper.
Colombia sensed the change and absence of danger so took the initiative. It gave them the impetus to get the late goal and start extra time the better side.
Some may argue England haven’t got the depth in personnel but I believe Rashford and Loftus-Cheek still give the side a good offensive threat with their willingness to run at defences and make them turn. They would have kept Colombia stretched. I understand injury and fatigue had a part to play in some of the changes but if England revert to that shape again it will only help Sweden’s cause.
Vardy can be a real pest with his pace. He would be better served in the wide channel should he come on again as playing him further up negates the effectiveness of Kane.
All teams who win the World Cup or progress to the deep end have a world-class striker. We have one who is growing with confidence every game, is putting chances away, is on course for the Golden Boot and maturing as a leader. The way he has taken his penalties, I’m not sure what he does, whether he waits for the keeper to move or not, but he has been clinical, so we really need to keep him in his best position. He brings a fear factor that worries defences.
Sweden are a big, strong side. Difficult to break down, well organised and set up defensively. They don’t want our forwards playing down the sides of f their centre backs and getting in n behind with our passing. They want us to be the England of old, crossing from deep so their defence can lap it up and d then hit us on the counter or force a set play. If we bring the style of game e we have started with they will be e uncomfortable.
There are plenty of positives to be e taken from how England controlled d most of the game against Colombia a but they were tested in so many ways, including temperamentally, and that t will give Sweden real food for thought.
Colombia were calculated and got t under England’s skin at times, which h underlined the importance of keeping composure in the face of provocation.
As much as I like VAR, the referee should have been stronger and sent off Wilmar Barrios for his headbutt — that would have defused what followed. If you can’t rely on the referee you have to keep cool.
Colombia coach Jose Pekerman criticised England for going down too easily. He’s talking rubbish. What they have shown is that they are getting smarter in how they play the physical teams. Take it to the edge of the line but don’t cross it. Hopefully, Tuesday’s game will also serve as a good lesson for the boys.
The mood in the camp will be euphoric at the moment. They know they have a great chance and the penalties will give them plenty of confidence.
A side who come back from a deficit in a shootout have great character as well as talent and mentality, but, as cold as it sounds, when you are in this situation you have to put euphoria aside and stay grounded.
The way teams have fallen, the way the draw has gone, this tournament has given England a fantastic opportunity yet it has also handed out some stark warnings. No matter what your history or ego you can go home very easily. Switzerland were better than Sweden but we are facing the Swedes.
What I do know is that, if I was playing, I’d desperately want this chance. If we beat Sweden, we face Croatia or Russia. All have good players but we can win. That would give me great confidence of making a World Cup final. It’s a great situation, the kind of opportunity a player hardly ever gets and one we must take advantage of.