July 15 – The pain goes on amid intensifying frustration and recrimination. Football once again isn’t coming home, not to England at least. By Andrew Warshaw
Within hours of an entire nation crying into its collective beer – gallons of it – a nationwide forensic examination of England’s demise was under way.
Was it the fault of manager Gareth Southgate that England are still seeking their first major men’s trophy for 58 years? Was it the players’ fault for under-performing on the biggest stage?
This, undoubtedly, was the best chance the country had ever had to finally get over the line and erase over half a century of hurt.
If not now, when? was an understandable question. After all, England were placed in the favourable side of the draw in Germany. As the tournament progressed, it became even more relevant as England, leading a consistently charmed life, benefited from a series of lucky breaks that seemed to have their name written all over the trophy.
And yet it still didn’t come home.
With so many expectations prior to the tournament, much has been made of Southgate’s role, with critics pointing the finger at him for being too inflexible, too conservative, lacking tactical acumen, having no imagination.
It’s a fair argument. To win football matches, you need possession of the ball but England couldn’t break through the lines against Spain. Only occasionally was the tempo raised in the final, all too often reverting to a defensive block. Only occasionally did England pull off threatening transitions of the kind that Spain were so good at.
Resilience and character ultimately proved to be not enough, but England should have had shown so many more qualities. Their movement off the ball was pitifully disappointing, a feature of their performances throughout the tournament and one Southgate has to take partial responsibility for despite on paper having the strongest squad – one that included last season’s best player in England (Phil Foden), Spain (Jude Bellingham) and Germany (Harry Kane).
Ah, Harry Kane. The notion that England’s captain is no longer up to the job is patently nonsense. He scored a record 44 goals in all competitions for Bayern Munich last season and is, of course, the record marksman for his national team.
The reason why Kane performed so poorly over the past few weeks is two-fold. One, he was clearly not 100% (Southgate virtually admitted as much in his post-match analysis). And two, he was too often played out of position. Form is temporary, class is permanent, which Kane will doubtless prove when he gets back to his club.
In Southgate’s defence, he was not afraid to substitute his captain when the chips were down, including, boldly, after an hour against Spain. And without Ollie Watkins’ last-gasp winner after replacing Kane in the semi-final, England would have been on the plane home even earlier.
Football is a game of opinions. When managers get decisions right – like in the semi-final against the Netherlands – they are praised to the hilt. When they don’t, they are lambasted by all and sundry.
Some would argue that Southgate, the most successful manager since Alf Ramsey over half a century ago, has changed the culture of the national team and should be celebrated for his achievements – a World Cup semi-final and back-to-back Euro finals. A record no predecessor has even got close to.
Others would counter that with such wonderful, arguably unprecedented, talent at his disposal, he had all the tools necessary to go the whole way which, after all, was the goal at the start – and blew it.
The truth perhaps lies somewhere in between. The best teams don’t always win major tournaments and it was refreshing that in this case Spain got what they deserved for playing front-foot football. Does being beaten by the best team, as England were, really constitute failure?
On the other hand, you can have all the top-quality players you like but if they don’t gel as a team or play incisive football, your chances of getting over the line are limited.
Southgate also made some bizarre squad choices, such as leaving Jack Grealish, a player who scares defences into mistakes, at home, and selecting a half-fit Luke Shaw who played hardly any part in the competition until the very latter stages.
Too many of those who WERE selected play in the same positions for their clubs and then looked lost when asked to do something different for the national team. That’s another reason why they came up short. Systems matter but too often England’s chief creators drifted around, trying to make an impact.
But is it the fault of the manager alone that so many of his key players under-performed? Once again that old chestnut of Premier League players being exhausted before they even arrived because of too many domestic games has been wheeled out.
Their crestfallen faces and shattered bodies told a familiar story at the final whistle in Berlin. And yet Rodri, who apparently played around 60 games last season, won the player of the tournament award. In other words, it’s about putting your individual skills into a team strategy.
Nobody will feel the pain of England’s wait for a major men’s trophy extending to 60 years more than Southgate. Whether he has the hunger to go again at the 2026 World Cup after 101 games in charge should soon be revealed.
Whatever his opponents may say, he has re-established the Three Lions as a continental power. That cannot be questioned after more than half a century of not even challenging for major honours. But those same critics can also rightly point to the fact far smaller footballing countries such as Denmark and Greece have won major tournaments since England’s solitary success at the 1966 World Cup on home soil.
Throw in the fact that their heavyweight rivals across Europe and the world have won numerous honours during England’s drought and you get some idea of why such deep divisions remain over who is ultimately to blame.
England’s past under-achievements during previous regimes have nothing to do with Southgate but this was supposed to be England’s time. And still it didn’t happen. Instead it was a case of rinse and repeat.
It’s the hope that kills you, of course. Getting to one final is tough enough but England will have to make it three finals in four competitions to win the World Cup in 2026.
The law of averages suggests this is highly unlikely, whoever is in charge. Which makes the balloon-bursting disappointment in Berlin on Sunday all the harder to take for England’s expectant fans.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1736274113labto1736274113ofdlr1736274113owedi1736274113sni@w1736274113ahsra1736274113w.wer1736274113dna1736274113