England beat Serbia 1-0: Stars lost

TPO - The "Three Lions" completed their goal of winning 3 points in the opening match of EURO 2024. However, the way coach Gareth Southgate's team deployed the game did not show that they are an overwhelmingly strong team.

England started off on a high note with complete dominance before Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in the 13th minute. However, as the game progressed, the Three Lions became increasingly isolated. Bellingham may have been excellent but he had no connection with his teammates. England's two wings - Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden - were ineffective. And Harry Kane, the striker, was "hungry for the ball" all game.

This is exactly what the British media is worried about when looking at the England team at EURO 2024. Coach Southgate has an excellent Bellingham in his hands, but how to promote the Real midfielder when playing behind Kane is a difficult problem. Southgate wants to experiment with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the midfield position, but this adjustment is still too new for the "Three Lions".

Kane played poorly against Serbia.

Kane touched the ball only twice in the first half, even though the captain of the "Three Lions" was constantly on the move. Bellingham's almost full-field range made Kane prioritize staying close to the penalty area, instead of actively falling back and playing the ball like a false 10 in previous English tournaments. The Bayern star was not effectively pumped the ball by Bellingham, Foden and Saka, leading to complete confusion in the opponent's final third.

Serbia played with a disciplined squad, handling 1-on-1 marking situations well to lock down England's attacking stars. However, the main reason for the "Three Lions'" deadlocked attack was them. The formation with the midfield pair Arnold - Declan Rice, Bellingham playing as an attacking midfielder, and the wings Saka - Foden supporting Kane was ideal in theory but the reality was the opposite.

Bellingham was the spark in every attack of the England team. But it was also the Real star who many times let the "Three Lions" have chances to pass by because he just kept dribbling. In the first half, there was a situation where Bellingham ran into the siege of 3 Serbian players, instead of passing the ball to the right wing, opening up a much more open attacking situation for the "Three Lions".

Southgate’s system was in disarray because many of the stars were not ready for their positions. Foden could not move flexibly like he did at Man City, leading to a fixed role on the left wing and being out of sight. Arnold playing in midfield was an adjustment beyond expectations, compared to a coach Southgate was considered rigid. But Arnold’s performance was only average, lacking mobility and suddenness in his passes.

On the Daily Mail , famous player Stuart Pearce added more problems about the way the "Three Lions" squad operates. He commented that the England squad gathered stars in every position, but when launching an attack, the ball almost only went to the right wing, where Kyle Walker and Saka were. Meanwhile, the left wing of Kieran Trippier and Foden was completely obscure.

Except for Kane, the rest of England's attack was disappointing. Graphics: Tien Phong.

After EURO 2020 and World Cup 2022, coach Southgate really gave Foden a starting role. The title of the best player of the Premier League 2023/24 is the affirmation of the Man City star when he is at the most vigorous age of his career. However, "Where will Foden play" is the question asked by many English football experts.

Ideally, Foden would play on the right wing. However, Southgate likes the all-rounder Saka in that position. In the No. 10 role, behind Kane, Southgate has Bellingham. Ultimately, Foden’s only possible position is on the left wing, or as a regular on the bench for Southgate.

Against Serbia, Saka persistently stuck to the wing. He had at least 2 situations where he penetrated deep into the wing to return the ball into the penalty area. The connection between Walker - Saka was always guaranteed, as in many matches when this duo played together in the national team. Meanwhile, Foden was never suitable to stick to the wing. The match heat map showed that this midfielder moved continuously into the middle of the field, actively asking for the ball to pass back as a habit at Man City.

The left wing of the "Three Lions" was completely obscured because the duo Trippier and Foden could not find each other. Expert Pearce declared that if he were Southgate, Foden would be taken off the field after 30 minutes, replaced by Eze or a pure left winger to balance the influence of the two wings.

Trippier is naturally a right-back. Southgate will wait for Luke Shaw to fully recover from his injury, return and bring the best quality to the left wing of the "Three Lions". The reality from the 2 pre-EURO 2024 friendly matches, until the victory against Serbia, shows that Southgate is still in the process of testing 2 wing positions. In addition to Eze, Southgate has Anthony Gordon ready to play in a pure wing role.

Coach Southgate has Jarrob Bowen and Cole Palmer to replace Saka, if the Arsenal star does not play as effectively as in the Czech match.

The "Three Lions" captain also has to solve the problem of Arnold's position. And as the Guardian commented, the matter of Southgate being able to bring out both Kane and Bellingham when playing together, or having only one of the two shine, playing in the background is also a headache.

Under Southgate, England often had a difficult start to major tournaments. Southgate's habit was to rarely adjust the squad, compared to the 11 positions he chose from the beginning. The English people could only wait for Southgate to do something, in terms of tactics and player positions, so that the "Three Lions" could gradually play better at EURO 2024.

Quynh Anh

Source: https://tienphong.vn/anh-danh-bai-serbia-1-0-dan-sao-lac-long-post1646961.tpo