TIME WILL TELL FOR GARETH’S GAMBLE
Southgate’s A-team now need to prove they are up to job after rest
UNTIL this defeat, the only foot Gareth Southgate had put wrong at the World Cup was the one that left him nursing a dislocated shoulder.
But there was something troubling about this, something as uncomfortable as the heavy strapping England’s manager had to wear on that sweaty afternoon in Nizhny Novgorod.
It was the sight of Southgate sending out a side with so many changes that they not only lost momentum but the opportunity to secure a rather more preferable last-16 encounter with a side ranked six places below Panama.
And the sight of England not really retaliating after Belgium got the goal that relegated them into second place in the group.
Japan are Belgium’s prize for a quite wonderful goal by Adnan Januzaj. For England, it is Colombia, rather more dangerous opponents when they boast players of the quality of Radamel Falcao and — assuming he recovers from injury — James Rodriguez.
If England’s first team can win that game, then Southgate will suddenly look clever again, given that it will be Sweden or Switzerland rather than Brazil or Mexico in the quarter-finals.
But that is a major risk. There are no guarantees Brazil will beat the Mexicans, certainly not at this World Cup, and the focus, surely, should always remain on beating the next opponents rather than turning this into a tournament for clairvoyants.
What is a little disturbing is the fact that England did not require a crystal ball to discover which team they might meet next. That was decided a couple of hours before kick-off when Colombia beat Senegal and rescued a Japan side that had contrived to lose to a Poland team with nothing but pride to play for. But Southgate stuck to his guns, making eight changes and sending out a team who lacked the dynamism and daring of the side seen in the first two games. Roberto Martinez, in Southgate’s defence, made nine changes to his line-up, and when the Belgium fans cheered the sight of their players being booked in the first half, one was left with a sinking feeling in a stadium already slowly disappearing into the swamp that surrounds it. This, however, began to look like a ruse — something that may well have left this young England side with a false sense of security in the belief that their opponents really did want to play their next game close to their Moscow training base. The truth is Belgium always looked more dangerous in this contest, boasting three or four shots on target with none in return from England in the opening 45 minutes and then breaking the deadlock with that magnificent finish from the former Manchester United starlet six minutes after the break.
Were Belgium pleased to score? Judging by the way Martinez celebrated and his assistant Thierry Henry leapt off the bench, you’d say so. Before the game, Southgate was praised for his bravery by Gary Neville, with Lee Dixon suggesting this was a situation he couldn’t win.
England could, of course, have given themselves a better chance of winning the game but that option seemed to be lost on the former Arsenal full back.
Perhaps Gary Lineker made more sense with a post on social media: ‘If I were a player, I’d want to win the match. I’d want to win the group. I’d want to win a bloody knockout game for once. And I’d want to play against Brazil in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. That’s what it’s all about.’
Southgate will no doubt argue he was of the same view, that this was a team good enough to do just that. But you have to wonder if his own experience as a player who spent an entire World Cup on the bench influenced his judgment too much here, and if concerns for squad morale came before the need to be ruthless.
Yes, it remained prudent to protect Harry Kane when qualification for the knockout stages had already been secured, but sending on Danny Welbeck ahead of him once England needed a goal to draw level seemed a strange one if Southgate did want to win the group.
He needed Kieran Trippier on the pitch, too, because for all Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ability, he does not seem to be in the form of his England colleague when it comes to his delivery at set-pieces.
But Kane remained on the bench and so did Trippier. Sure, there were some positives. Danny Rose might curse his role in Januzaj’s winner but he was impressive at times down the left flank, while John Stones grew in stature in that central-defensive role prior to coming off at half-time with what Southgate will hope is not a serious injury. This, though, was a team of understudies and they looked exactly that, with Marcus Rashford squandering the one
decent chance that fell to England — which was saved by Thibaut Courtois.
That from Chelsea’s goalkeeper was the act of a man who wanted to win, in a team that wanted to win. And, as a consequence, Belgium now meet the country ranked 61st in the world while England get Colombia. Southgate might well have the last laugh but, my word, that is some gamble.