Doha. When England is in a negative mood, it is easy to get carried away with thoughts.
Think about how sad that could sound. Think about how difficult it is to spoil a much-needed detail.
Imagine if someone other than Gareth Southgate could have taken this national team that much further.
I never thought that the long and dull European Championship match against Scotland last summer could be used as a positive example of England’s continuing World Cup adventure in Qatar like this after 1.5 years.
That’s what you get sometimes with Gareth Suget. He may sit on the biggest offensive capital in the world (excluding Brazil), but he refuses to deviate from his safe defensive principles.
More is required
First of all, it is important to point out that Southgate’s hiring has been successful in many ways. He was the right man at the right time when it happened and was probably one of the few who in fall 2016 saw really big potential in a weak national team that lacked confidence.
But the risks can be so negative that the whole body crawls out. Never mind that 0-0 against the USA is technically a good result for England and all the worse for the Yankees. When a squad includes the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, Mason Mount, Judd Bellingham and Phil Foden, it takes a lot to impress.
McKinney key
Greg Berhalter arrived at the home field, a giant Arabian tent, with a game plan lined up under Weston McKinney’s name. The Juventus star was used to break up the English on the right flank, with the result that almost all of the American attacks came from there.
On the left, Christian Pulisic did something as simple as taking a few steps inside the pitch, leaving Kieran Trippier in the dark. Will Pulisic follow or mark left back Anthony Robinson who has filled and expanded the wing?
England’s attacking game wasn’t glamorous to many either. Throughout the first half, people wondered why Trippier didn’t push up and overlap, or instead Kane or Judd Bellingham broke through Styles by running into the area where Bukayo Saka was bunting. Bellingham did it on a few occasions with good results, but it lacked versatility and initiative.
Southgate Priest
The simple analysis is that in some cases England are painfully pragmatic. Instead of trying to stifle the Americans with overload or surprise, they stood by and waited for their opponents’ next move. The American quadruple line of defense was tight and barely touched the flipper, why would they do that?
I’m hard-pressed to think of one example from the past six years where Gareth Southgate produced a masterful counter-move on pressure. It was clear that he did not expect Berhalter to form a 4-4-2 and did not find a way out of the situation either.
The Englishman did not make his first substitution until the 68th minute of the match, when Jack Grealish replaced Raheem Sterling. The fact that Jordan Henderson was replaced by Bellingham also says a lot about the type of manager Southgate is. It wasn’t necessarily the wrong choice, the game settled down a bit, but the captain of the national team was a lot safety first It hinders the team instead of developing it.
Tuchel is a cucumber
Somewhere, Thomas Tuchel is sitting and twisting his thumb, waiting for the right offer. If the German was now truly interested in ‘the hardest football job in the world’, as Alex Ferguson once called it, it would be presumptuous to pass up the chance to take him on next year.
Tuchel understands English culture very well and, above all, seems to enjoy the country deeply. In addition, he can spot and spoil tactical details during the course of a match better than many others. Better than Southgate.
First, the water cycle must be completed. When I think of that half-baked summer evening in London in 2021, when Scotland settled a point, the same feeling came then as now:
It is likely that Gareth Southgate’s gang will bounce back in the next game and take several steps up in the Championship. It could be the audience standing there, drunk with triumph, singing along to “Sweet Caroline.”
But… think again. Imagine if someone else could benefit more from this national team.