EURO 2024: Southgate's disappointment

However, for most England fans and neutral spectators, scoring only 2 goals in 2 lackluster matches is not worthy of expectations. The British press also criticized coach Gareth Southgate for the last 2 unconvincing matches.

Will coach Southgate and the England team conquer the highest position at EURO 2024?

EVERYTHING SEEMS WRONG

It’s hard to imagine that this is the way a team that is considered the favourites to win the tournament will play. The 1-1 draw with Denmark was a huge step back in many ways from the hard-fought 1-0 win over Serbia. After Harry Kane opened the scoring, England’s half-billion-euro attack hung back with their teammates as if they had given up on attacking, only to be held back by Denmark shortly afterwards. Unless England change soon, there will be more to come. I fear.

In England, there is talk that with such a star-studded squad, England could win EURO 2024, but not in the way they played against Serbia and Denmark. Southgate, who has been in charge of England for nearly eight years, is being urged to make big changes across the board to bring in a style of play that can bring out the best in his stars. Kane could be taken off when England need a fresh boost, but why is Ollie Watkins not Cole Palmer, the best English striker in the Premier League last season, but instead? Phil Foden has been excellent for Man City as a free-flowing playmaker, but why is he always stuck on the left for England? And when Alexander-Arnold, the central midfield solution while he is a full-back, did not play well, Southgate only said that he remembered the best version of Kalvin Philips, while he did not dare to put Kobbie Mainoo, a young talent of MU, on the field to replace him.

WHAT WILL HAVE TO CHANGE?

To help England play better, coach Southgate needs to change, and according to public opinion in England, as well as for many England fans in Germany, this demand is really urgent.

That change should be seen in the Slovenia game. A draw is not bad enough for England to qualify, but the fans are demanding more. It is true that Southgate has picked his best players for this tournament and the 4-2-3-1 is a reasonable starting formation given the personnel available, but it is clear that the team is not performing well.

It would be silly to stick with that formation and system against Slovenia. So what would you change? Foden and Bellingham did well in the first game, but were out of sorts in the second. So should Gordon be on the left wing and Foden repositioned, allowing him to play more freely as a second striker, while Bellingham remains an attacking midfielder? And Palmer, with 22 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League, deserves to get his first minutes in the Euros in the third game.

There was a telling remark from Southgate after the Denmark game, that England had physical limitations. This explained why they were not fit enough to press for most of the game. Southgate was right. Kane had a back injury towards the end of the season with Bayern Munich and only played 90 minutes for the first time in early May. Both Saka and Foden were substituted at the same time as Kane in the 70th minute of the Denmark game. But that also meant Southgate had more reason to change, once the squad had gone through so many matches last season. The pressure on England was getting bigger, once they stuck to the old view of the strongest squad but it was not effective.

Meanwhile, Slovenia, the best performing team in the Balkans, are considered the "Cinderella" of EURO 2024. They are dreaming of reaching the round of 16 of EURO for the first time in their history. The 1-1 draw with Serbia has ignited their burning dreams. Slovenia have 2 points after 2 matches and there is no reason not to dream of a miracle if they beat England.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/euro-2024-noi-that-vong-mang-ten-southgate-185240622214119656.htm