THIS was meant to be England’s tournament. Not for a generation had the Three Lions entered a World Cup or Euros with so much in their favour. From the level of talent in the squad to the perceived weakness of rivals and even to the scheduling of every fixture at Wembley, there was reason to believe football really was coming home this time.
Two games into Euro 2020, though, and familiar failings have started to surface. England’s 0-0 draw against Scotland on Friday night keeps Gareth Southgate’s side in a good position to get out of Group D and make the latter rounds, but the underwhelming nature of the performance prompted many questions.
If Southgate had a plan for this match and for the threats Scotland would pose, it wasn’t apparent. England dominated possession, but struggled for penetration throughout as Steve Clarke set up his side to absorb pressure and progress the ball forward through Kieran Tierney, back from injury, and Billy Gilmour.
Gilmour outshone everyone in England’s midfield, demonstrating why many in Scotland believe him to be the country’s best young talent for decades. The Chelsea youngster knew when to slow play down and when to accelerate it in order to open up space further forward. England, however, didn’t have anyone like Gilmour on the night.
They had the talent to play through Scotland. Phil Foden and Mason Mount should have been the ones to provide guile for England, but there was no sign of any passing patterns or triangles. There was no structure to England’s attacking play as Scotland maintained a deep line and denied space in behind to the likes of Raheem Sterling.
The match appeared to be set up for a ball carrier to make the difference, but when Southgate finally introduced Jack Grealish off the bench after an hour he withdrew Phil Foden in his place, denying England the chance to create overloads in the final third. Grealish was expected to make something happen all on his own.
Harry Kane’s limp, and immobile, performance raised more doubts about his fitness levels. The 28-year-old has now underwhelmed in back-to-back games and was once again substituted off before the end, just as he was against Croatia. Southgate will surely consider resting Kane for England’s final Group D fixture against Czech Republic, not just for the striker’s benefit, but for the team’s as a whole.
“I felt we needed a few more runs in behind and that Marcus would give us that energy,” Southgate said when asked why he replaced Kane with Marcus Rashford. “It was really difficult to find space tonight. Scotland defended really well and we weren’t able to open them up. I think I know exactly where this team is – it’s a very young team and some of them won’t have experienced a night with that intensity and pressure. They will have learned from that.”
Southgate has a lot to think about over the coming days. In terms of individual quality, England’s squad is as strong as any other at Euro 2020. However, on the basis of their first two performances at the tournament, they have yet to find a tactical structure and ideological approach to make the most of that individual quality.
2018 marked a cultural shift for England, not just in the way the national team was covered by the media, but in the way Southgate put in place a foundation of values and principles that made the Three Lions more than the sum of their parts as they made an unexpected run to the semi finals of the World Cup.
However, Southgate’s Euro 2020 team have so far prompted flashbacks to previous England sides that should have achieved more, but didn’t due to poor coaching and a toxic culture. This group is England’s most talented since the fabled, and ultimately tragic, ‘golden generation’ of the mid-2000s and on recent evidence, they are course to emulate them in the worst way possible.
