GREAT things have been expected of England teams in the past. The 2006 World Cup side, for instance, was widely seen as one of the tournament favourites, but the weight of expectation burdened many in the squad. It was a similar tale at other tournaments, but now the Three Lions are writing a different sort of story.
Gareth Southgate has harnessed a group of players who rather than being burdened by the pressure are emboldened by it. England have had players of this quality before, but nothing like this sense of unity and togetherness. The Three Lions strength is in the squad as a whole, both in terms of their footballing ability and their character.
Criticism of Southgate and some of his decisions earlier in the tournament was justified, with the goalless draw against Scotland a reminder of how his conservative approach can sometimes verge into directionless insipidness, but the 50-year-old has always managed to see the big picture.
Even between tournaments, Southgate has kept his grand mission in mind. Turning England into a team truly suited to the elite level of the international game was always going to take time. At the 2018 World Cup, they were found to be out of their depth at the semi-final stage. Three years on, at Euro 2020, that was no longer the case as England took one more step.
So many of the decisions Southgate has made at this tournament have been informed by what went wrong for England three years ago in Russia. Against Croatia back then, England struggled to get their foot on the ball. They had nobody like Luka Modric to dictate the tempo from the centre of the pitch.
England still don’t have anyone of Modric’s level, but Southgate’s steadfast faith in Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice as a pairing has given them something they didn’t have in 2018 – control. Even when this partnership is broken up, as it was in the final stages of extra time against Denmark (when England played 54 uninterrupted passes to see the game out), the structure remains.
England’s 15 players ran 139km collectively tonight. @Kalvinphillips ran 15km alone – 11% of the team’s total
— Andrew Haigh ⚡️ (@AndrewHaigh) July 7, 2021
The paradox of England’s tournament so far is that while Southgate’s system frequently appears to be holding back his team, it’s the thing that has got them this far. Fans might want Southgate to unleash the attacking talent at his disposal, but to do that sacrifices would have to be made elsewhere. In tournament football, those sacrifices would come with significant risk.
Italy will be the toughest test Southgate and his players have faced at Euro 2020 by some distance. Sunday’s final will be the first game England have played that they haven’t necessarily been clear favourites in. Southgate has a system, but Roberto Mancini has a masterplan.
Let's all take a moment and appreciate the amazing work Roberto Mancini has done with Italy.
33 games unbeaten. Into the final of the Euros.
This run started when Italy were at their lowest ever FIFA ranking.
— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) July 6, 2021
However, Wednesday night’s game might have prepared England perfectly for the final. Italy will pose many of the same threats Denmark did – they too will deploy wing backs high up the pitch and look to control the contest in the centre of the pitch, albeit with a midfield trio rather than a duo, like Denmark used.
Celebrations at Wembley hadn’t even died down when Southgate turned his thoughts towards Italy. “I didn’t think they kept the ball well enough and we need to do that better on Sunday,” he said. “Italy is a very good side. They’ve shown outstanding form and have defensive warriors at the back who have been through everything.”
Destiny only counts for so much in football, especially tournament football where one poor performance or one missed penalty kick can change the whole narrative. Southgate knows he can’t count on intangibles like that to deliver England’s first piece of silverware since 1966.
