Nov 20, 2022
Can England get it right in Qatar?
England have fallen short at the last two major tournament’s- more heartbreak needs to be avoided in 2022
Major tournaments have become somewhat more enjoyable for England fans in recent years. The 2018 World Cup in Russia saw Gareth Southgate lead his country to the semi-finals, the furthest any England team had reached since 1990.
The momentum was carried onto the delayed European Championships of 2020 (which took place in 2021). England reached their first major final in 55 years but, despite taking the lead through Luke Shaw’s early goal. There was a lot to take from it, but that illusive wait for a major championship win goes on.
The 2022 World Cup is here and with it, a chance for England to go one step further and win only their second ever major tournament. A big ask, you might say, but in this most unusual of World Cups it might not be the strangest thing to happen.
Many of the players selected by Southgate for the Euros made it onto the plane to Qatar. There will be some, such as Harry Kane, who you’d imagine will start each game of the tournament, whilst others who are deserving of plenty of game time but will likely not get the chance. For me, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are two of England’s most exciting talents at this tournament. Bellingham in a midfield role and Foden playing up in a three alongside Kane has the potential to be exciting and effective.
Yet Southgate, as much as he has done so far for England, does have a nasty habit of airing on the side of caution. Taking a more conservative attitude has cost England the chance of writing our name on one of football’s biggest international tournaments. With more of a gamble, England could be heading to Qatar as European Championship holders. However they are not, and the ‘nearly’ boys’ wait goes on.
England will be tackling the elements as well as opposition in Qatar, and images from an early training session showing the players struggling in the temperatures was proof of this. It is hopefully something which can be acclimated too, but it can be argued that players from countries more accustomed to heat will have the edge over England and others from traditionally cooler climates.
There is quality in this England squad, a level of quality which had not been seen since the mid 2000s in terms of depth. Yet this is England at a major football tournament. Falling short is seemingly part of our DNA.
The political and humanitarian backdrop of the tournament has rightly overshadowed the build up, and will likely continue to do so right the way until the full time whistle goes in the final on December 18. But on the pitch, if you can keep focused, England might just have the opportunity to achieve the success that the quality of this crop of players deserves.
This group of players certainly deserves to crown a golden era for English footballers with a trophy, but it will take a concerted effort from everyone in the camp to make this happen. The excitement starts soon enough- what the next four weeks has in store only the footballing gods know at this point.
