England: Denmark and Slovenia. My Reflection and Expectations

Understandably, there is an overwhelming sense of unease surrounding the current displays of England, with fears of an underwhelming tournament display on the cards, should our performances fail to turn for the better in the coming days.  

There is no way to sugar coat it, England's performance against an underperforming Denmark side was awful. Having started so well once again, as we had against the Serbians one week prior, England's usual implosion, allowing so much pressure to eventually build up against their 1 goal lead, led to an anticipated Danish equalizer. All be it an outstanding stroke of brilliance from 30 yards, the goal had absolutely been coming, with the Danish certainly the better of the two sides on the evening.  

Whilst the two performances have been painstakingly sub-par for the English public's expectations, there is certainly an element of harshness surrounding the England national team’s.  

We are the top of our group. Having gained 4 points from our first two fixtures.  

In Euro 2020, we had the same tally after two games. In the 2022 World Cup, we had the same tally after two games. In the 2018 world cup, we were absolutely outclassed in our opening fixture against Belgium.  

My point is that, though I understand the poor level of football we are playing so far, and I will explore that further later, this theme of expecting to start tournaments with 9 points won in the first 3 games is unrealistic. In England's entire history, we have never won our first two group games in major international tournaments. The idea that we will steamroll every team because we have so much talent in this side is just ridiculous. Different teams pose different threats, both tactically and individually as players. We are top of the group. A draw against Slovenia takes us through to the round of 16 as group winners.  

But having said this, why has there been so little advancement in such poor performances over the last two games? As much as it pains me to say, as a huge Gareth Southgate supporter, I am afraid it seems to all sit atop his shoulders. Why, just why, is this set up so negative? Sitting back against, not to be disrespectful, less talented sides than that of England, and absolutely scraping past them, is not how England should be playing. This side is arguably the best squad that England has produced in many years, and the utilization of some of the best attacking talents in world football in a defensive setup is one of the worst managerial decisions that I have seen in a long time.  

The idea that England as a squad is 'not trying' is absurd. The real situation that the squad is so caught up on is the clear confusion sparked by Southgate's tactical setup. To win tournaments, sides must become that unit, shifting into transitions as a team, but the problem we face is, frankly, a team of individuals.  

As I have said, I really do like Southgate. Whilst he has not won anything with us, which is obviously an indicator of a successful manager in modern football - titles and silverware - Gareth has achieved better finishes than any other manager on that long road since 1966. But Gareth's idea that to win tournaments, a team must be pragmatic is outdated. With all due respect, pragmatic football has not been a successful playing style since the early 2000s, perhaps even the late 90s. Perhaps this stems from Southgate's defensive history - obviously playing as a centre half for England during his playing career, forcing him into this idea of a cautious, more defensive approach of football, which is unlikely to be successful against the harder, stronger teams of the tournament.  

One particular sample of football often brings with it the success of the serial winners in international football - take Spain for instance - is the immense pressing from the top of the field, high up the pitch. Against Italy, a strong side with experience in winning, as the current holders of the trophy, the Spanish dominated the game so thoroughly for the full 90, that Italy, a side notoriously strong in defence and occasionally in attack, mustered a measly 3 attempts on goal, with the Spanish forcing the majority of the game to sit within the final third of the Italian's half. Simply through their pressing football and technical ability on the ball. We clearly have the technical ability throughout the full 11 of our setups, and the understanding in high pressing for most of our line up is clearly there, so why can't we achieve this? 

To say that this squad possesses so much attacking and midfield talent is an understatement, and the idea that none of these world superstars are being instructed to press high is astounding to me. Man City, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, etc. are some of the greatest teams in world football. Obviously not this season for United, but mostly the sides are so successful due to their high pressing, attacking football. They are not pragmatic. Not one bit. So why has Southgate instructed them not to press?  

As argued by former England striker Gary Lineker in an episode of his footballing podcast 'The Rest is Football,' an error made by England's all-time highest goal scorer Harry Kane highlighted his lack of leadership in building the press from the front of the attack for his teammates to follow. Preferring to drop back and provide a passing option for the midfield, Lineker claimed that this play style is extremely damaging to England's tactical setup, providing no option at the top of the field upon winning the ball back in our own half. There can be little dispute over Harry Kane's hold-up ability on the ball, allowing his teammates to join him further up the field in the building of attacks, but by dropping further back, this essentially disappears, making attacking creativity non-existent.  

Despite Walker's post-match interview, claiming that the squad were not instructed to sit back is something that I just do not believe one bit. The fact that we have the best player in England, the best player in Spain, and Europe's top goal scorer in one side is absolutely ridiculous. But it means absolutely nothing, if they are asked to drop back and assist in defence, plainly because of the lack of pressing at all, inviting pressure onto an already weakened defence - as was pinpointed before the tournament even began. Yes, Marc Guehi has been outstanding on both occasions thus far, but the constant pressure and shots faced so far will eventually break through.  

Southgate's post-game comments that England has no 'replacement' for Kalvin Phillips was a stroke of idiocy, in all honesty, as, not only is the statement wrong, with the introduction of youngsters Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton, but also downright disrespectful to the players selected for this tournament. An extremely harsh statement, I would like to believe that Southgate's wording was, hopefully, wrong, and that he attempted to bring other issues to light, but the fact that we have no replacement for the midfielder is far from true.  

With rumours suggesting Trent Alexander Arnold is set to be dropped from the side, replaced by Conor Gallagher for tomorrow's Slovenia clash, according to David Ornstein, my overall reflection of Southgate's 'failed' Trent experiment is one that should point fingers at the tactical blunders, rather than the player's supposed incapability to perform in an alien role. The entire reason for Trent's lack of performance in an untested midfield position can be pinpointed to the lack of effort from his teammates in an attacking sense, failing to make any of the required runs in behind that Trent so often finds with his unbelievable passing range. There is only so much a playmaker like himself can do if those ahead of him are coming short for the ball, entirely contradicting his role in the side, and downplaying his unique ability with the ball at his feet.  

If England are really going to present themselves as favourites at any point in this tournament, it must be done as soon as possible, before the 'big guns' of the tournament become too quick to catch. Slovenia provides the perfect opportunity for this. A switch in tactics, a more forward pressing approach, and hopefully a less reserved defensive set up, Southgate needs to alter his application of defensive morals, and turn his focus towards the immense attacking talent that this squad possesses. A thrashing of Slovenia would obviously be the best-case scenario for confidence and an indicator that we are heading in the right direction, but a simple 3 points to finish top of the group would be the best-case scenario, regardless of the result. The result is not what truly matters, but how we play.