England 1-2 France (Kane P 54′ | Tchouameni 17′, Giroud 78′)
Unhappy experiences are the most brutal of teachers. Welcome to the top table, where you can do most things right, get your tactical plan spot on and you can lose in two or three moments that go against you because a formidable opponent makes you pay and fortune falls on the wrong side of a thin line. England will head home from a tournament at the earliest stage under Gareth Southgate. For some, that is the only line that will matter.
It does not feel like a compliment now. Praising any team in defeat these days is interpreted as an act of the weak. There will be those who will delight in nipping into the replies of anyone who offers sympathy, empathy or praise to England, because that is how these things work. Perhaps that makes this judge too lily-livered and, if so, I’m sure to be told as much.
Within those deliberately spiteful messages, there is a grain of truth. Major tournaments with likeable squads that are packed with talent and balanced in age do not come along often and every exit is a failure of some form because there are honours for winners and nothing for anyone else. The England team know that. They have dedicated their lives to giving themselves the best chance of winning games such as these.
And they did give themselves the best chance; that is why this was an evening to be proud. They outplayed the current world champions and the likely impending world champions for long periods. They were undone by two moments, a wonderful shot from Aurelien Tchouameni and the type of bending cross from Antoine Griezmann that makes every defender come for the ball, retreat a little and then try and come again.
All tournament, Southgate has portrayed the air of a man determined to leave this job without regret. You spend an awfully long time not employed as manager of England’s national team and you should make sure that those years are not filled with what might have beens. Russia 2018 was about creating a new culture. Euro 2020 was two kicks from glory. You can never fully control your own destiny. But if you can return home as a hero or a has-been safe in the knowledge that you tried everything and gave your best, you can sleep peacefully.
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Magnificent Saka, struggling Foden and solid Stones - England's player ratings against France10 December, 2022The accusation may be that Southgate merely caved in to public opinion against France, that the man down the pub was right all along. Southgate was too defensive and he got pelters for it, so he chose to be more attacking and avoid the sharpest tongues in England: upset football supporters. They wanted an attacking line-up against elite opposition in a seismic match; he gave them Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane. Are you not entertained?
Complete nonsense. This week, assistant manager Steve Holland spoke at length both about the difference between three and four at the back – it’s not about being more defensive – and hinted at why it made sense to persevere with their current shape. This attack is more efficient and more productive than it was 18 months ago, Holland explained. That meant backing them to produce at one end of the pitch was better than trying to soak up pressure at the other end and risk the attack being stymied and a little sticky.
And it worked. England fell behind early on against the one opposition in international football who you least want to chase a game against and they wrestled it back in their favour. They did it through the use of two young attacking midfielders – Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden – who Southgate has brought through ahead of schedule and turned into his stars.
Harry Kane drifted deep and it worked; Jude Bellingham drifted forward and it worked; Jordan Henderson stretched the play on the right so Kyle Walker could stay home and Luke Shaw overlapped on the left and it worked. They lost because of impossibly fine margins and that really does mean something without it being defeatist. And these were Southgate’s ideas.
A month ago, it appeared hard to know how Southgate could plot a course through this tournament and keep his job if England failed to repeat their semi-final of 2018. There will be those who still believe that England can do better, because that pretty much is always the case when you agree to take this job.
England’s manager requires a period of reflection before deciding on his future and there is no guarantee that he stays. This job is absolutely exhaustive and it only becomes more tiring when you go on with glory.
“I think whenever I finish these tournaments I’ve needed time to make correct decisions,” he said in his press conference. “Emotionally you go through different feelings. The energy it takes is enormous. I want to make the right decision, whatever that is for the team, for England, for the Football Association.”
But that course is obvious now. Over the last few weeks, most of the players in England’s squad have been asked about Southgate’s future and each of them have offered variations on the same answer: “We love him, we love his man management, he doesn’t get enough credit.” They are insistent that Southgate has made a difference, but that’s not the point; he is continuing to make a difference.
Will that be enough for those who abused Southgate with such vitriol in June? Who knows – and you’ll never please everyone. But rather than the end of an era, a black hole opening up into which excitement and hope rushes to pass from existence, Saturday night felt like the start of another one.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/gareth-southgate-no-regrets-world-cup-lead-england-new-era-2022190
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