Potent England
— but moments of joy like this have been too rare in recent times just to let it drift by. After two games of the 2014 World
Cup, England were out. This time, they are through with a game to spare.
The challenges they faced in Brazil — Italy, followed by Uruguay — must be taken into account but the conviction they are playing with under Southgate is, nevertheless, a marked step forward.
England were rampant on the biggest stage, in stifling heat and against strongarm tactics. This was a wondrously triumphant occasion bereft of past inhibitions. Kane, newly installed as the Golden Boot race front runner, s p o ke o f i t eve n b e i n g “fun”. And it really was. They put themselves in a position where Southgate could rest Kane, take Trippier off as a precaution over what he described as a thigh “twinge”, while also rewarding Jamie Vardy and Fabian Delph for their performances in training.
Dele Alli remains a doubt to face Belgium on Thursday, but Southgate does not have to take any unnecessary risks with the midfielder given England’s passage to the knockout rounds is already secure. Thoughts inevitably turn to what could come next and whether England can plot an easier path — again, a remarkable position to be in given the modest expectations going in — yet the picture is no clearer as to who their last-16 opponents will be following Group H’s results yesterday and any attempt to avoid Germany and Brazil in the quarterfinals could fail due to results beyond their control.
“I’ve heard talk of ‘is it better to finish first or second?’ but I’m not sure how we are going to work all of that out,” said Southgate. “Let’s just go and enjoy the game again.”
This England team are making that easy to do right now.