Should England sack Gareth Southgate before World Cup?
After eight years, England’s national football team was winless in four consecutive games. The last time they were winless in four games was at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. This graph depicts the drop in performance for a team that had been unbeaten in their last nine games since the Euro final against Italy.
What is causing all of this, Selections? Tactics? or Players?. A €1.30 billion squad full of talented and trophy winning players, England have: 1 League cup winner, 1 FA Cup winner, 5x Premier League winners, 1 Serie A winner and 1 Conference League winner in their squad.
There are many questions that the England board needs to answer if they want to keep Gareth Southgate in charge of the Three Lions’ trip to Qatar. Gareth Southgate is a great statesman, but as a manager, he is limited in many cases; he has shown a tendency toward negativity in his selections, as evidenced by his team’s recent results.
Since taking charge of the English national team in September 2016, Southgate has made frequent changes to the squad. His team plays well, but there are numerous changes in the English squad after each league break. This causes chemistry-building issues in a group of players, as they struggle to develop that mindset in less time.
Footballing bodies have already scaled back international football, so it is not like playing every week with your national teammates. National teams only play each other three to four times a year, or there is a tournament or event. We are only 20 weeks away from Qatar World Cup 2022; now, this is some decision England needs to take as they will be playing Iran, USMNT, and Wales in the group stages.
Selection Errors
Southgate made some obvious selection errors at the Nations League 2022. England has a golden generation of Premier League players who are fantastic at the club level, but when it comes to national team performance, there is a significant drop-off. As a national team, England is fortunate enough to have two to three top players in each position.
This demonstrates the depth of the squad, which is full of performers but still produces upsetting results. The first mistake Southgate made was leaving Tyrone Mings out of the squad; the second player Southgate should not have left out was vice-captain Jordan Henderson; and the third player who deserved to be in the final 27 was Ollie Watkins; although Jarrod Bowen was not a bad option.
Not only did Southgate make mistakes with the squad selection, but he also made mistakes with the starting eleven, benching strong players. The first player who should have started in England’s defense was Fikayo Tomori, who had a great season with AC Milan and had a 0.6 Conceding rate in 90 minutes with 40 appearances. He only appeared in one game for England in the last four matches.
There are some players in England’s national team who start more regularly than others. But then “there are some players who don’t get that opportunity, in order to secure a seat in the national team, they have to prove it within the 90 minutes”.
Tammy Abraham is the second player who has only made one appearance in this season’s Nations League campaign. He had a fantastic season with AS Roma under Jose Mourinho, winning the UEFA Conference League with 27 goals and five assists. Still, it wasn’t enough to impress Gareth Southgate, and he only played 65 minutes in four games.
There are many options Southgate can use and get advantage from, England football team is one of the most favorite squads in the world right now, but managerial mistakes are causing them many problems. The board’s decision to fire Gareth Southgate will not be easy, but England must act before the World Cup in Qatar.
Because Southgate’s England is not bringing home any silverware, only two games are left before England will play Iran in the World Cup group stages. Will Southgate lead England at the FIFA World Cup, or will there be a surprise change?
Lets us know in the comment section about your thoughts on Southgate.
