The game started with indignation over Gareth Southgate‘s team selection and ended with him being hailed as a tactical mastermind. Such is the life of an England manager.
Southgate erred on the side of caution in terms of personnel but was bold in his convictions. There was an 8-3 split between defenders and attackers, with Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka – occasional left back for Arsenal – occupying the front three positions.
Had England been outplayed by Germany, or worse still beaten, Southgate would inevitably have faced a backlash over his risk-free strategy. Phil Foden, Mason Mount and the England supporters’ poster boy, Jack Grealish were all named on the bench. So too Jadon Sancho, whose continued omission has baffled those who regularly tune into the Bundesliga.
But other than short spells at the start of both halves, England weren’t outplayed. And better still they won, by a convincing scoreline in the end too. Ultimately, Southgate’s tactical decisions and perhaps more crucially his substitutions, worked far more effectively than those of his opposite number Joachim Low.
Next up for England is a quarter-final in Rome to face Ukraine, a team who should in theory have less firepower than Germany, but will be buoyed by a dramatic extra-time victory over Sweden in Glasgow.
Here are the key decisions Southgate made against Germany and whether he will stick with them for England’s next match.
Back three switch
Germany’s thrilling 4-2 victory over Portugal was by a considerable margin their most accomplished display of the group stage and both wing-backs – Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens – were pivotal to their success that day, one or the other playing a part in each of the four goals.
Southgate’s decision to match Germany up by mimicking their 3-4-2-1 system was made in an attempt to keep Kimmich and Gosens quiet, with Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire doubling up on the former and Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker doing likewise with the latter.
And on the whole, Germany’s threat out wide was effectively nullified. Germany’s wing-backs mustered one (off target) effort on Jordan Pickford’s goal and created only one chance between them with Gosens eventually taken off as they sought a route back into the game late on.
This time, it was one of England’s wing-backs who made a decisive impact, Shaw centring for Raheem Sterling to score the opener after intelligently holding his run outside of Kimmich who had gravitated infield towards the ball.
Although it worked against Germany, Southgate could well revert to a back four in Rome as Ukraine’s full-back pairing of Oleksandr Karavaev and Vitaliy Mykolenko don’t quite possess the same cut-and-thrust going forward as Kimmich and Gosens. The right-sided Karavaev will have to be monitored closely, though, as he has created six chances so far in this tournament.
Grealish, the impact sub
Grealish appears to have taken on a messianic role in the eyes of England supporters and the rapturous ovation awarded to the scruffy-looking maestro from 40,000 fans packed into Wembley as he trotted onto the pitch was the culmination of a year-long clamour for him to be more involved.
He had an inauspicious start after taking the place of the impressive Bukayo Saka, losing possession of the ball and then immediately conceding a foul on Kimmich, but it didn’t take him much longer to make his mark on proceedings.
First there was a – cover your ears, traditionalists – pre-assist for the opening goal, a simple sideways pass to Shaw that was nevertheless weighted with dutiful care and then there was an actual assist, from virtually the exact same spot as Shaw had been in for Harry Kane’s clincher before the end.
England fans cannot get enough of Grealish and his short socks. They want more and more and more and cameo appearances like the one on Tuesday only serve to quench their thirst further. But if Southgate is to sacrifice one of the eight defensive options for a more offensive one against Ukraine, a fully fresh Mason Mount still seems the more likely candidate to come in.
For now, Grealish may have to make do with an impact role, which judging by this evidence, may be no bad thing.
Unwavering faith in Kane
To say that Kane has struggled to replicate his Premier League form from last season at Euro 2020 would be something of an understatement. At his best, Kane can be a sharp-shooting, chance-creating force of nature but when he is off his game, he can become a burdensome passenger.
Throughout this tournament, Kane has looked sluggish and leg-weary, running as though carrying a boulder on his shoulders. “He’s still got to do more for me and patience will be running out,” said Alan Shearer on the BBC after watching Kane have nine touches in the first half.
But Southgate kept the faith in his captain. That England’s only other recognised centre forward, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was left out of the matchday squad entirely, perhaps made his decision easier. And he was eventually rewarded for his show of faith four minutes from the end.
Kane was involved in the first goal, bumping the ball on to Grealish to feed Shaw and then finished Germany off with a clinical diving header finish from close-range. It is unlikely his feet have moved as quickly during the tournament as they did when he charged off towards the corner flag in front of his adoring supporters.
That goal should do wonders for Kane’s confidence and it was vindication of Southgate’s persistence with him.
More from i on Euro 2020
- England aren’t ‘rubbish’ and Southgate isn’t a ‘fraud’ – we just need a bit of patience
- What the Premier League could learn from Euro 2020’s controversy-free referees
- The football nomad who became a hero for his role in saving Eriksen’s life
- How Ronaldo’s Coca-Cola stunt could change the face of football sponsorship
- How to watch every Euro 2020 match on TV and online in the UK
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2SBlsAK
Post a Comment