Gareth’s tactical ‘blunder’
GARETH SOUTHGATE lost the Euros final because England used long-ball tactics.
That was the verdict from a UEFA technical report into England’s defeat to Italy after a penalty shoot-out, with the analysts saying Southgate lost control in the second half.
And Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini also rubbed salt in England’s wounds by insisting they actually faced a tougher game against Spain in the semi-finals.
UEFA statistics reveal that England’s possession dropped to 35 per cent as they tried to defend Luke Shaw’s early goal before Leonardo Bonucci equalised.
England keeper Jordan Pickford made 26 long clearances as the game slipped away in the second half, in contrast to the first half when Southgate was described as being “tactically excellent”.
Former Celtic keeper Packie Bonner, one of UEFA’S technical committee, said: “When England started to give away possession, they started to lose control of the game.”
Chiellini added: “We suffered a bit more against Spain, because we didn’t have much of the ball.”