England 3-0 Senegal (Henderson 39′, Kane 45′, Saka 57′)
These are the nights of our lives. England spent 35 minutes of a game at a major tournament without a single fret or bitten nail. There were no moments where you held your breath and winced your lips and waited for the bad news to land. Say it louder for the doubters: our public just watched a third of a knockout football match during which the only question was “Will we make this any more painful for the opposition?”.
By now, we have to believe that this is all deliberate. Central defenders do not take three seconds to make a pass, pointing in three different directions before passing to the bloke next to them, so often by accident. It may frustrate you to the point of anger or subdue to the point of slumber, but Gareth Southgate doesn’t give a stuff. If this is to be either the crowning glory of his tenure or where it ends, he will do it his way. And it is working.
There are two distinct patterns to England at this World Cup. The first is their slow starts. Harry Maguire and John Stones appear to be playing a game of two-man pass the parcel on expert mode, waiting until the last possible moment for the music to stop before giving the wrapped gift away. It has been, can be, is frustrating to watch because we know how different England can be.
It’s all a question of light and shade, you see. Play constantly at a high pace, and you both use up a great deal of energy and, crucially, lose the element of surprise. Be a little more conservative, offering a passable impression that you have little idea how to break your opponent down, and you can lull them in.
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England beat Senegal 3-0 to set up World Cup quarter-final clash against France04 December, 2022There will be sceptics. Some of you are reading this and frowning, convinced that Southgate is simply a middling manager who landed on his feet rather than the composer of any masterclass. But you at least have to accept that England have made this their forte. Go back and read the live blogs, the match reports, the Twitter timelines from wins over Wales and Iran (yes even a 6-2) or Germany and Croatia at Euro 2020. Each time, someone will be caught in mid-complaint about the pace of Engl… oh look, they just scored.
That does not mean that England played well in the first 30 minutes against Senegal; not at all. It is one thing to prefer safe possession over invention and creativity, but another entirely when you regularly give away cheap possession. Ismaila Sarr missed a chance that Kylian Mbappe might not and Jordan Pickford’s left hand was stronger than Thor’s hammer to prevent an emergency situation. France will punish England in a way that no opponent has yet.
But broadly, it works. Southgate’s plan bears fruit because of how brilliant and how beautiful this England team are when they quicken the pace from nought to 60 in the space of three seconds. Hang all of them in a gallery: Declan Rice’s get-and-gives, Harry Kane’s scans and passes, Jude Bellingham’s balance and knowing exactly when to release his passes, Phil Foden’s late runs and crosses. England scored three goals and each of them were the result of exceptional combinations of individual skill and communal understanding.
England’s other great trick is to maximise the advantage of scoring. Cliche may dictate that you are never at your most vulnerable than when you have scored, but make way for the myth-busters: England are at their peak immediately after scoring. In their last five games alone: their first two goals against Germany in the space of four minutes; first three in the space of 10 minutes against Iran; first two in two minutes against Wales; first two in eight minutes against Senegal. Southgate’s team cause a crack and then break down the wall.
Southgate has moved past the point where he will convince his doubters (and if the last decade of culture and politics has taught us anything it is that people really don’t like admitting they were wrong). One of his most redeeming features is that he genuinely doesn’t seem to care. But he has got every single team selection call right in this tournament. At a time when half the nation were sharpening their tongues and polishing the pitchforks, both remain gloriously unused. It’s almost as if this man who has been in the job for six years might know these players and know how to use them.
France may well be a step too far (it seems likely that England are the second best team in this tournament but face the best next). None of this should change the record and none of it should stop the good word being shouted from every rooftop: halcyon days are supposed to exist in the past; this England team is living them in real time.
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