American sigh as Southgate goes back to his dithering, safety-first game plan
WE clearly have the players but this one asked familiar questions of the manager.
Why, if everyone of an England persuasion – here and at home – could see that changes needed to be made sharpish, did Gareth Southgate (right, with Harry Kane) not react sooner?
The Three Lions head coach remains, absolutely, the right man for the job.
He has set a new, higher bar for England management with his careful, authoritative handling of the contentious issues off the pitch as well as on it.
But this was the Southgate of last year’s Euros final.
The Southgate that was slow to react to events after England took the lead and Italy equalised, eventually winning on penalties.
This brought back the ghosts of the 2018 World Cup semifinal, caught between two stools after Croatia’s Ivan Perisic cancelled out Kieran Trippier’s early goal with Mario Mandzukic breaking English hearts in extra time.
It could yet be that Southgate will show us the evolution of his decisiveness as this tournament wears on.
He’ll need to because this suggested not.
His players have more than a year’s more experience of elite Premier League and Champions League football under some of the best managers in the world.
But has Southgate trained on mentally? This was one game of what could yet be a long tournament.
It is an assessment of a game England did not lose. Southgate still retains the faith of the nation and so he should.
But why did he wait for the USA to build up a head of steam and leave so many of us living on our nerves, before accepting something had to give?
Why give Jack Grealish and Jordan Henderson just 22 minutes to re-establish control of the midfield and force the Americans back onto the defensive?
Why not throw on Callum Wilson to give the Americans, revelling in our indifferent display, a reason to be running back towards their own goal?
Bukayo Saka – for all his brilliance, a talent for the future – was enduring a rare off-day. Why wait so long to replace him?
Why did Southgate not bring Marcus Rashford on sooner than the 78th minute, wrap Saka in cotton wool and save him for another day?
A number of the heroes against Iran looked leadenfooted against a United States side that probably couldn’t believe their luck.
Gone was the snap in the England side that hit six and had so fans getting ahead of themselves since last Monday.
Gone was the verve and the authority that had us believing we were on a par with the likes of France, Spain and Brazil.
At times it was hard to believe it was the same team we witnessed the other day.
Save for a lightning-quick attack down the right with Trippier, Saka and Jude Bellingham exchanging passes before Kane’s shot was deflected out for a corner, this was a world away from Monday.
Replacing it was that familiar feeling every England fan of a certain vintage can relate to.
A reality check that a new generation of fans and neutrals are being introduced to.
Looking on the bright side, this England squad is so strong Southgate could easily ring the changes for the next game.
Bear in mind too, that we are practically through.
England’s final group opponents are Wales who are heading out of the tournament.
They’ll want to go out on a high but on a line through Iran we should be too strong.
But Southgate posed questions that need answers.
He is more than adept at facing them having done so well during his reign as England chief.
He is blessed to have a squad possessing all the answers. He just needs to be braver in shuffling his pack. And faster.