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Kyle Walker now has more appearances for England than Sir Geoff Hurst. “Which is unbelievable,” Gareth Southgate said, and the England manager meant it sincerely, his admiration for Walker’s accomplishments evident.
The Manchester City defender won his 50th game in a 2-1 Nations League win against Belgium on Sunday and placed him on the all-time list with Phil Neal. “Obviously, I was the only one in the locker room who knew,” Southgate said with a smile. Neal, the richly decorated Liverpool winger, won the last of his international matches in 1983.
Southgate mentioned how he and the players had made an introduction to Walker before the Belgium game and the first thing to say is that the milestone seemed unlikely as recently as last month. On September 5, Walker was sent off for a second yellow card against Iceland, when the score was 0-0, putting his team in jeopardy, although he screeched for a 1-0 victory. In a later emotional television interview, he expressed the fear that he would not have another chance.
It was Walker’s first call-up since September 2019 in the Nations League finals and he had become a forgotten man during his time through the freeze. That made what happened against Iceland even more catastrophic.
However, after his stellar performance against Belgium, Walker stands as the Comeback Kid and is not the only one on Southgate’s team. Eric Dier had also not appeared since the Nations League final when he returned against Iceland and, following a switch to central defense, he now looks like a fixture in Southgate’s favorite XI.
Walker and Dier were two of the heroes of England’s race to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, even if the latter was not a starter, and the feeling is that, as Southgate plans for the European Championship final next Summer, you are getting back to what you know both in terms of staff and training.
Against Belgium it started with five players who had started the World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia and did not include Dier. Also, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane would have started if they had been fit or fitter, respectively. Southgate had a problem on the left side of his defense, so he pushed Kieran Trippier, his World Cup right-back, out of position. I would describe him as a “warrior”.
Walker’s sight to the right of a center-back three was the clearest symbol of the back-to-the-future theme. It was there that he solved problems at the World Cup and, in Southgate’s new 3-4-3 system, a variation on the 3-5-2 he used in Russia, Walker’s qualities were again evident; his speed in coverage, strength in one-on-one and emerges out of defense with the ball at his feet. His pacing is particularly important with Dier and Harry Maguire at his side.
What Southgate wanted against Belgium, the number one team in the world soccer ranking, and wants to advance is stability. That comes not just from defense, but from structure and protection against it, but is backed by the ability to dig when things are tough, which is all about mindset, experience.
Having moved away from the 4-3-3, which Southgate had played since the World Cup, he remains committed to the three forwards. Sterling, Kane and Marcus Rashford or Jadon Sancho are the reasons for the emotion. Jack Grealish is another.
For Southgate, it’s all about finding a balance behind them and he will hear criticism for erring on the side of caution with two midfielders, Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice, whose game is to sit down. But not if the team continues to shape results like Belgium’s.
“The key was that we needed our experienced players on the field,” Southgate said. “We have several young players in the team, but we knew a game like Belgium’s: you need these experienced players. It is the union that they have united over a long period of time due to the experiences they have had on and off the field; the closeness of their relationships; your understanding of what it takes to win the biggest games.
“That team from two years ago hadn’t played so many games with us, they hadn’t played some of the great games with their clubs, they had no experience of winning the things they had done with their clubs. So in those moments of pressure [against Belgium]They were better able to survive and get ahead. “
England was almost overrun in the first half and obviously there is a lot of work to be done. But the reaction in the second half, the increased tension, the fight, was a source of encouragement.
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The wings are the dial between attack and defense and, against Belgium, he headed towards the latter. The formation looked more like a back five. But there is attacking potential in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Chilwell, who is available to return for Wednesday’s Nations League tie against Denmark, not to mention Trippier. Chilwell has been on the sidelines after violating the government’s “rule of six” and suffering from a minor illness, and it is clear that Trippier has set the standard with his professionalism.
It is what is fundamental for Southgate. You need to know who you can trust. The World Cup provides the clues.
