Solid step up the mountain…but so much work to reach the summit
IMMENSE was the word Gareth Southgate settled on. He’s not a man who delves for words to make headlines, so on this occasion his description demanded you take notice.
It was fitting. ‘Immense’ summed up England’s exertions to beat Croatia. It also underlined the effort that will be required if this victory is going to lead to a coronation on July 11.
There is every reason to be enthusiastic about this squad after a history-changing opening group game triumph at a European Championship.
Plenty of us can remember dismal and disappointing equivalents in Stuttgart, Malmo, Eindhoven, Lisbon, Donetsk and Marseille in years gone by.
Even the last time at Wembley, in 1996, was a day for shredded nerves and a stale performance that was fortunate to end with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland. England were never as confident or composed on any of those occasions as they were yesterday in handling Croatia, who historically cause problems.
Croatia, on this evidence, have not progressed since the 2018 World Cup semi-final and the enthusiasm England showed from the early exchanges, when Phil Foden cracked a post with a super left-footed effort, was deservedly rewarded. This was a first big — and solid — step up the mountain.
But… Yes, there must be a ‘but’. It is not designed to dampen those who celebrated loudly as they toddled back down Wembley Way, it is simply to illustrate the growth that must happen within this squad if they are going to get all the way to the summit.
The team Southgate selected for duty yesterday had 39 major club trophies between them; when you split the figure down further, 37 of them came from the Manchester City quartet of Foden, goalscorer Raheem Sterling, John Stones and Kyle Walker. Kieran Tripper and Mason Mount have one each.
It is a respectable figure, but, equally, it illustrates that within the squad there are some individuals who do not know what is required in the games when the stakes are at their most intense — as they will be when the knockout stages come around.
Keep that figure of 39 in mind now and compare it to some of the nations whom England are going to have get past at some point in order to deliver. For starters, let’s look at France, the tournament favourites.
Didier Deschamps’ expected starting line-up to face Germany tomorrow — Lloris; Pavard, Kimpembe, Varane, Hernandez; Pogba, Kante, Tolisso; Griezmann, Benzema and Mbappe — have 116 club medals. All bar Karim Benzema won the World Cup in 2018.
Germany’s projected team (Neuer; Ginter, Hummels, Rudiger; Kimmich, Gundogan, Kroos, Gosens; Havertz, Muller, Gnabry) for the opening night in Munich have 135 gongs in the locker plus five World Cup winners.
Also in Group F are Portugal. Their line-up to face Hungary tomorrow is set to be Patricio; Semedo, Dias, Pepe, Guerreiro; Danilo, Carvalho, Fernandes; Silva, Ronaldo and Jota. Their total? 96.
England’s ‘ reward’ for winning their group — which they are now odds-on favourites to do — will be a showdown with one of these three countries, who won the last three major tournaments. Germany and Portugal have also added a Confederations Cup and Nations League respectively for good measure.
All this is without mentioning Belgium, lurking on the other side of the draw, who brushed Russia aside 3-0 on Saturday with 50 club medals in the locker. Substitute Leander Dendoncker for Kevin De Bruyne and switch Thorgan Hazard for his brother, Eden, the number suddenly jumps to 70.
Quality with a gold standard is everywhere in this championship. These teams are ruthless, they make you regret not taking your own chances and punish you if you give them the slightest opening of their own.
This was very much in mind in the last 10 minutes against Croatia, such as when Sterling lifted a glorious opportunity to kill the game over the bar, Jordan Pickford erratically blasted a clearance out of play and Jude Bellingham conceded a free-kick deep in England’s own half.
Southgate, more than anyone, will use meetings at St George’s Park to talk about small details and how the serial winners get them right when it matters. This is not a criticism: it is simply to show the meticulous levels that need to be met in order for dreams to be realised.
What will have delighted the manager, more than anything, though, was how some of his inexperienced players responded to the pressure. Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice and Tyrone Mings haven’t got a major honour between them but they performed as if they had been in this situation all their lives.
It doesn’t get any easier, of course, but the voracious desire to become winners cannot be questioned. No wonder Southgate chose ‘immense’ to illustrate the passing of their opening examination. Let it become the word of the next month.