Curse of penalties thwarts English dream

Italy 1 v England 1 (Italy won 3-2 on penalties)

So the long wait continues. Fifty-five years and counting since England last won a major International trophy as once again the nation must take solace in assuming the role of gallant loser. By any measure it’s a bum rap, made all the more punishing by losing to the agony of penalties in front of a home crowd desperate for its moment in the sun. The footballing gods have not always been kind. But when the dust finally settles, on an ever growing list of nearly tournaments, what conclusions can one draw from the Euro 2020 campaign?

The Credit Column;

• Gareth Southgate – in his management of player and media relations he is first class. His modest approach, setting stall by results rather than words, instilled in his squad a collective spirit where everybody worked for everyone else. This spirit also built resilience and a degree of self-belief that all too previously has been lacking. He was also not shy in making tough calls such as his early decision to call time on the England career of Wayne Rooney. The manner in which he did this gained the respect of the team and instilled the message; “you will be picked on merit rather than the size of your reputation” something which was never evident under Sven Goran Erikson.

• The defence – England entered Euro 2020 with concerns about the quality of its defence. There were doubts about Harry Maguire - who was returning from a long term injury - and his centre back partner, John Stones - who is prone to switching off and taking unnecessary risks. However, by the tournaments end the centre back pair were considered a strength, augmented on either side by the pace of Kyle Walker and the left foot guile of Luke Shaw. The result; unbeaten during game time and only two goals conceded during the seven games played.

• The win against Germany – whilst most would admit that the German’s were not the side of previous years the victory proved to England that they could beat their arch rivals in the knock out stages of a major tournament. At long last a sizeable monkey has been lifted from their shoulders.

• Raheem Sterling – he came into the tournament on the back of an indifferent season with Manchester City and with it a lack of confidence. If that was the case then it wasn’t evident as exemplified by his energy, commitment and willingness to take the fight to the opposition. He also found a knack of putting himself in the right place at the right time to take the chances presented to him and his weaving run against Denmark led to the penalty - albeit a dubious one - which secured England’s win.

• Declan Rice – yesterday’s performance demonstrated there is more to his game than just a holding midfielder. More than once during the first half he picked up the ball and ran at the Italian defence causing problems. He needs to develop a more attack minded passing game but based on this last performance he will be part of the England set up for a long time to come.

The Debit Column

• Gareth Southgate; In the wake of the 2018 World Cup Semi Final defeat to Croatia, Southgate stated that if the side was to progress it had to get better at retaining the ball – in the manner of Luca Modric. That was three years ago and if the final demonstrated anything it is that the manager has done very little to address it. Though England started the game well, staying on the front foot for most of the first half, come the second they reverted to type – hopeful balls to players who were often marked and thus easily dispossessed such that the ball came straight back. In so doing England ceded control of the game and the lack of possession (Italy had 65%) was ultimately their undoing and will continue to be so until we start picking ball players. (Foden, Mount, Grealish, Bellingham).

• No plan B – Southgate’s cautious approach was sufficient to get England through to the final but in the second half, when it was found to be wanting, there was no plan B. Too often substitutions were taken on a like for like basis – Saka for Grealish or Henderson for Rice rather than changing the dynamic. By which I mean upping the tempo through quick first touch interchanges in triangles around the box. We kept being told that there is an abundance of exciting talent on the bench – the only problem was that too much of it remained there.

• Raheem Sterling – whilst he had an excellent tournament I struggle to believe that he can really play. There are more gifted natural performers whose development he will hinder.

• The Jordan Henderson factor – shortly after his introduction Guy Mowbray declared “You can be sure he’ll put in a shift”. This is everything that is wrong about English football. Mo Farah could put in a shift, but he wouldn’t change the general tenor of the game.

• Hanging on for penalties – who in their right mind wants to walk half the length of the pitch, the whole world watching, before taking a penalty with the outcome of a major final resting on your shoulders? It is cruelty of the highest order and England must change their approach to extra time. Commit every attacking option to those last thirty minutes. Far better to go down in a blaze of glory rather than suffer the torture that will all too inevitably follow.

To conclude - England has enjoyed a good tournament. The team now know that they can compete and win, if not quite at the highest level. To achieve that we need less caution and more attacking guile. There are players capable of delivering. They now need the game time to prove it.

©Mark Brennand