It’s coming home?: What England have done well in Russia
Following England’s success at the World Cup so far, there’s been continuous renditions of Skinner & Baddiel’s song “Three Lions”, as many are optimistic that football will come home this year. A late-minute winner against Tunisia. A 6–1 thrashing against Panama. And a penalty shootout win against Colombia, something that England has never achieved before in the World Cup finals. Since England’s embarrassing 2–1 defeat against Iceland at the European Championships, they’ve turned a corner.
In the space of 2 years, Gareth Southgate has been appointed as England manager (and has only lost one match to date), there’s a new generation of young players flowing into the team, and they have started playing an attractive brand of football.
Tactics
Unlike previous tournaments, there’s a sense of confidence and unity amongst the England squad, and that confidence has quite clearly been translated onto the pitch. As England manager, Gareth Southgate has resorted to playing a system that relies on high-pressing and pouncing on defensive mistakes, and does so through a 352 formation. The 352 allows England to attack in numbers when going forward, but also allows them to defend in numbers, something that’s done through the wingbacks. There’s defensive protection for the back 3 by Jordan Henderson, who sits back and allows Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard to go forward, both playing just behind Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling.
However, there are shortcomings of playing this system, which heavily depends on the positioning of the wingbacks. If Young or Trippier lose the ball in an advanced position, this leaves either flanks completely free for the opposing wingers to run into, and because the centre backs will try to cover for that space (stretching the defense), there will be gaps in the middle for attacking players to make late runs into. As of now, England haven’t exactly been defensively exposed yet, but when time comes for them to play a footballing powerhouse like Croatia, they could be exposed.
As in England’s first two games of this tournament, their most creative option was right-wing-back Trippier, making a strong case to be regarded as the best right-sided defender in this competition. It was Trippier’s cross that found Harry Kane at the far post in the early stages, with England’s captain heading over the bar, and then shortly before half-time a similarly impressive ball gave Raheem Sterling a half-chance at the near post. Trippier also had England’s best first half attempt at goal from a free-kick, struck wide, and later would create a headed chance for Harry Maguire at a set-piece, and play a fine ball in behind for substitute Jamie Vardy. He eventually created five chances, more than anyone else on the pitch.
In general, Southgate’s style of play as England manager seems to have derived a bit from Conte and Klopp. Southgate clearly derives his pressing system from Klopp, pressing high up the pitch, limiting the opposition from playing out from the back. He derives his formation and positional organisation from Conte, whose revitalised the use of 3 at the back in the Premier League. Additionally, this system also relies on versatility. Through the pressing system that England adopts and how they counter, the likes of Lingard, Sterling, Kane, and Alli tend to interchange positions when going forward, which makes it difficult for the opposing team to man mark a single player, and forces the opposition to deviate or break from their normal shape.
This is something that’s taken out of Pep Guardiola’s book, especially from this season at Manchester City. In the Manchester derby at Old Trafford in December, Pep Guardiola played a 433 with a front 3 of Sané, Jesus, and Sterling. However, throughout the game, these players continuously swapped positions on the pitch, and dropped deep to get the ball and run at the Manchester United defense, a tactic that forced Mourinho and the players to think twice about their decisions.
The manager & players
Southgate derives a lot of his tactics from Premier League managers, and it’s no surprise to see it pay dividends. From his tenure as England U21 manager, Southgate had already worked with Harry Kane, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jesse Lingard, and more. By the time he was England manager, he knew how the England youth ranks are set up, what sort of players he needed, and what system to play. Add that and watching continuous matches of Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and you have the foundations that Southgate has built this England team on, fast, interchangeable, and versatile football.
Not only has Southgate found the right system, but he’s also getting the best out of his players. In his first World Cup, Harry Kane has already scored 6 goals, Jesse Lingard is building off his great form with Manchester United by playing in a free-roaming #10 position, and Ashley Young, at 32 years, is proving why he’s been called up. And the positivity from the players is certainly translated onto the pitch.
A bright future
A bright future lies ahead for England. It’s a young squad, and should they win their crucial encounter against Sweden, they’ll be in the semi-finals, something that no England team has achieved since the 1990 World Cup finals. This team is young, fresh, and determined to win it all. These players have entered this World Cup with no fear, no shadows haunting them, and nothing standing in their way. This is a team that England hasn’t seen for a long time. Even in the golden generation that had Lampard, Scholes, Gerrard, and more, something was missing, whether it was the right manager or team cohesion.
England before has never been in such a position that they enter the last group game already qualified. England before has never won a penalty shoot-out in the World Cup finals. Things are looking on the up for England. It’s coming home is no longer a joke and may become a reality. As Skinner and Baddiel have said in their famous football anthem “Three Lions”,
And that has never been more relevant than before. Before the tournament, England had an outside 7% chance of winning the World Cup. Now, they have a 15% chance of winning, a higher chance than the likes of Croatia and Belgium.
“This will give us more belief than ever and the fans more belief than ever back home. We’re enjoying it, they’re enjoying it. We’re just looking forward to the next one.
“We’d spoken a lot about being an inexperienced and young team, but we grew up a lot on that pitch. There were mixed emotions, highs and lows, even in the penalty shoot-out. We were behind and wanting Pickers to save one, and he did. It showed our mentality. England haven’t done great in the past in that, but that’ll give us huge belief as a team moving forward now.”- Gareth Southgate
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