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GRAMareth Southgate is concerned. It’s not about England’s sudden lack of goals, but about how they’ve gone from Euro 2020 qualifiers of free goals to clunky Nations League matches. His concern is more global and relates to something that touches us all today: the lack of certainty from one week to the next; the difficulty of long-term planning.
The manager has one final Nations League game on Wednesday against Iceland at Wembley, which has been stripped of its competitive importance after Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Belgium in Leuven, followed by three World Cup qualifiers. in March, which is unusual in itself. Then you have to name your team for the European Championship. But if March seems a long way off in Covid weather, June is even further.
“What we don’t know about March is what we will have available,” Southgate said. “It’s really anyone’s guess and I have to say a concern. Regarding the squad or the XI, we have not been anywhere near any of the three [get-togethers this season] to have a complete team to choose from. Nowhere near. And, as the season progresses, we will continue without winter break, we don’t know who we will have at the end. So that would be the concern. “
Southgate mentioned the lack of an unexpected winter break on two separate occasions and is unhappy that Premier League teams can only make three substitutions, which is out of step with major European leagues.
The coach has already spoken of his frustration over the tight schedule, which he predicted would cause the injuries that have occurred during this international break. The most serious was Joe Gomez’s knee problem, which posed no challenge in training and required surgery. Ben Chilwell and Jordan Henderson left with muscle problems against Belgium. Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford are among other players out.
What has bothered Southgate is that England have handled the training loads of the players meticulously, giving some, including Gomez, Henderson and Sterling, extra recovery time after the most recent Premier League matches and yet, injuries have still occurred.
Southgate said last Thursday that he expected Harry Kane to win his 50th international game against Belgium “because it would mean we could have gone a couple more days without losing another player.” The gallows humor does not mask the vulnerability he has come to feel, the helplessness, and has played a role in his move from 4-3-3 to the 3-4-3 system that is drawing criticism.
Playing primarily at 4-3-3, England scored 37 goals in eight Euro Cup qualifiers, a record in the competition, while they recorded other notable results, the most impressive being the 3-2 victory over Spain in the Nations League ago. little more than two years. make. Playing primarily 3-4-3 in the Nations League this season, the team has scored three goals in five games, one off a wide-range shot from Mason Mount and the other two from penalties.
The difference in the quality of the opposition should not be overlooked. It was pretty straightforward in Euro qualifying, although when England played their toughest game, away from home to the Czech Republic, they lost. Belgium and Denmark in the Nations League have been much tougher.
England created chances against Belgium on Sunday, a surprising number, only to lack a clinical advantage, but based on the campaign as a whole and a dearth of goal returns, Southgate is on the firing line with his preference for three defenders. central. and two containment midfielders in Henderson and Declan Rice. In short, it deprives the team of an extra attacking player.
Southgate has come to enjoy the safety of 3-4-3 because it leaves England less exposed to losing key players. He only has one left back in Chilwell and probably only one defensive midfielder in Rice. What if, married to 4-3-3, you lose one or both? At best it would lead to square pegs in round holes.
At 3-4-3, Southgate can use Chilwell at left back plus Bukayo Saka or even Kieran Trippier and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, while the requirement for a pure midfield pivot is watered down. Also, he argues that you can easily turn the dial to a more offensive setting within the formation.
For example, he brought in Jadon Sancho on right back against Belgium and Harry Winks in midfield, where Mount is another option. Saka is more of a winger than a left-wing defender.
However, what bothers us is the feeling that, with a large number of highly regarded and attacking-minded players, Southgate should be trying to adapt to more of them. What will happen, for example, to Jack Grealish, England’s man of the moment, who has played from the left wing, if Southgate persists at 3-4-3 when Sterling and Rashford are fit?
“We have always said that we must be flexible,” said the manager. “People can be obsessed with systems, but it’s about the players and the different profiles of the players. We have to have an open mind depending on who is available. “
Southgate has been happy about the emergence of the group of players who he believes have given him more depth. Grealish has been the most prominent, but Reece James, Tyrone Mings, Conor Coady, Saka, Kalvin Phillips and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have insisted on their claims, while Kyle Walker and Eric Dier have reaffirmed theirs. In this demanding season, the England manager needs the broadest bases.
