England began their 2024 European Championship campaign with a 1-0 victory over Serbia. Here are five things we learned about the game.
1. Bellingham On Fire
Embed from Getty ImagesThrough his all-around performance, the Real Madrid maestro proved why he is one of the best players in the world.
What makes him a class above everyone else is his decision-making, particularly in the final third, when he latched onto Bukayo Saka’s cross for the goal.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis is the advantage of playing players who are in form and in the correct positions. They are able to read the situation of the game and react as quickly as possible.
If England is going to get anywhere close to winning this tournament, you would think their number 10 needs to be at the heart of it.
2. Mixbag For Trent
Embed from Getty ImagesThe big dilemma for Southgate is where to get the best out of the Liverpool wingback.
In the first half, he got caught out of position in midfield, especially when he lost possession of the ball to allow Aleksandar Mitrović an opportunity to score, but the Serb failed to capitalise.
The only way to possibly get the best out of him is to play a back three of Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Marc Guehi and play the Liverpool man as a Right-Wing Back.
The disadvantage is that you can only cover less space with three defenders, making the team susceptible to counterattacks.
Another thing Southgate could do is use Alexander-Arnold as a substitute and play Kobbie Mainoo or Connor Gallagher in the Number Eight position.
3. Scruffy Start For Kane
Embed from Getty ImagestherEngland’s captain is vital to his side’s chances in this tournament. This is due to his all-round attributes as a striker.
However, his performance wasn’t his usual selƒ.
And there were times when he almost dropped too deep when England was defending, which meant that the timing of his runs into the box was slightly out.
Given how versatile Kane is as a centre-forward, this is okay, but his main prowess is scoring goals, and England needs to have him in more of those positions to get the most out of him.
He did have one chance near the end, where he got on the end of Bowen’s cross and headed it against the bar, but other than that, he was kept reasonably quiet by Serbia’s defenders.
4. Putting 90 Minutes together
Another issue for England is putting a performance of 90 minutes together.
England were sensational for the first half an hour but failed to capitalise on their great start.
This has been a recurring problem for England at major tournaments, and Southate’s naive tactics are the reason for it.
When England went 1-0 up, there wasn’t any urgency to look for the second and third, particularly when they were on top.
We rarely see England dominate games in major tournaments or even put games to bed when they’re in control, and that is the biggest concern.
The big teams normally do what they do when they are on top: They make sure that they get the second and third goals and seize the moment of the game.
Take Germany as an example; after they scored the opening goal against Scotland in 10 minutes, there was a constant barrage of attacks, which Steve Clarke’s team could not withstand.
It was poor defending, but the Germans were clinical enough to put the game to bed to see it out.
You rarely see England do that, and at major tournaments like the Euros of a World Cup, if you fail to capitalize on those moments, more often than not, you will be punished for it.
This was exactly why England failed to win any of the past three tournaments under Southgate.
To win this tournament, England needs to demonstrate excellent game management skills and see games out in a more fluent way.
5. Bright Start For Bowen
Embed from Getty ImagesAnother positive for England was the performance of the Hammers forward, who came off the bench to replace Bukayo Saka in the 76th minute.
Although it was for a short period, we started to see the best of him on the right wing.
He brings a burst of energy to the team, just like Marcus Rashford did in the previous few tournaments.
He can also be a goal-scoring threat if the likes of Kane, Bellingham, Toney, Saka, etc., have an off day.
You would suspect that Southgate will continue to use him as an off-the-bench substitute, but the timing and positions of when and where he comes on might just have a say in how he performs in the remainder of the tournament.
