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hhow did this happen? The motif of the Gareth Southgate years is the relative ease of England shirt and it is well documented how the manager did this; the cultural reboot, the relaxed and empathetic environment, the moves to seize control of the narrative. Having multiple top players also helps. But suddenly it began to look awfully heavy again.
It is worth saying that England have four points from their opening two matches at Euro 2024. They have never won the opening pair of games at the tournament. They are on course to qualify as winners of Group C. There were calls for calm and positivity. “Nothing needs tearing up, no need to panic,” Kieran Trippier said.
No one outside the England camp is listening to the reserve left-back, whose landmark 50th game in The 1-1 draw against Denmark on Thursday barely registered as the errors of the collective execution were scattered. Frankly, everyone is panicking.
It was a throwback to the bad old days against Denmark, the players unable to contain the emotion of the event, irritated to the point of exhaustion in the face of the fans’ hopes and expectations; your own hopes and expectations. Where was the peace? As Southgate suggested and Declan Rice confirmed, the players were guilty of caring too much, which certainly added to the feeling of going backwards.
Southgate’s stated aim is to win; this could be his farewell tournament if he doesn’t. He left the impression that anything less would be a disappointment, and that was the line Harry Kane drew on the eve of the first leg – the 1-0 win over Serbia on Sunday. The pose is meant to motivate, sharpen focus. It is part of Southgate’s open and proactive approach. So why does it feel like a burden?
It is easy to feel that a manager’s best intentions lead to unintended consequences. From the moment he named his provisional squad on May 21, he was honest about his concerns. That day it was the lack of coverage for Rice in the No. 6 role; the question was who would play next to him in midfield; it was the lack of a healthy specialist left back. (For that matter, Luke Shaw did not practice outdoors on Friday.) Mainly it was the fitness issues: players struggling with untimely injuries and the lack of full games in their legs, others overstretched after a grueling season.
There is value in Southgate making everyone aware of the challenges he faces. Understanding leads to forward-looking, more robust analysis. On the other hand, there is the terrifying notion of the self-fulfilling prophecy.
A theme for England was the outside noise that arose after Serbia’s performance. Southgate I felt the need to look into it with his team on Tuesday night to explain it to them, especially the 13 players with no previous tournament experience. Does a manager have such a chat if no problem? Is there any danger of making them aware of it?
The strange thing was that the criticism after Serbia did not seem excessive. There were searching questions about midfield balance, what to do with Phil Foden, Kane’s involvement. It was standard and legal.
Also, Southgate’s starting 11, bar Mark Gueye, were very experienced. Apart from Mark Guehy and Trent Alexander-Arnold, they had played at the previous Euros when England hosted, Wembley hosted all but one of England’s matches. It doesn’t get much hotter than that. It’s clear that the noise is now louder and the opinions of ex-TV professionals are registering. They were not complimentary after Denmark.
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“There’s probably more pressure from the outside now just because of the seasons that some of our players have had,” Rice said, doing some quick sums on the contributions of Kane, Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka. “If you look at the goals our front four have scored, there are over a hundred between them.
“There are expectations because they are the best players in the world and that goes for everyone in the team. There will be that pressure. This is England, a big tournament. But that’s our job and that’s what we have to deal with.
Southgate again spoke of it being “an environment unlike anything else … I’ve known that over the years”. And if the problems are psychological and physical, there is also a tactical dimension. All are connected.
The biggest problem against Denmark was the failure of the English press. It lacked intensity, which Southgate attributed to the physical levels of his players. He added that “with the profile of players we have, we don’t think the way to press is really high up the pitch.”
Kane’s comments seemed to muddy the waters. “When teams drop a few players deeper, we’re not sure who should press,” he said. “In the second half we tried to change with myself and Jude playing in front of their two midfielders and then trying to get up. But it was hard.”
Rice’s view was interesting. “When you’re a back four, we’re like a 4-2-3-1 and you play against a 5-2-3, the way you press is going to be difficult because they always have an extra player at the back. We are outnumbered in that end while we have our extra man in our end.
“I watched France against Austria and Portugal … they changed to a back five. They are middle block teams. They don’t go full throttle. It’s about getting that balance of when we can push and when we can’t. If you don’t do your press correctly – it’s probably the most important thing on the pitch – you’ll get sent off. You build everything out of your things that you don’t own. Then your possessions speak for themselves.
Southgate certainly needs to make changes, although a move to a back five is unlikely. He has not trained in the formation so far in Germany. Personnel changes are more likely, with Alexander-Arnold’s place in midfield most under threat for the final group game against Slovenia on Tuesday.
Southgate spoke of making new connections during the tournament, discovering solutions as he goes. There is still time and the mood can change with a positive performance. Right now, fame seems far away.
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