The argument that Gareth Southgate’s refusal to pull the handbrake is the only thing blocking England’s path to glory refuses to go away. But before they face Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, it’s worth asking whether ignoring caution is really the right way forward for a team worried about a range of defensive concerns and unsure who will partner of Declan Rice in midfield.
Of course, there will be those who say that attack is the best form of defence, not least because few countries have as many gifted attackers as England at Euro 2024. For Southgate, perhaps the most important task is to find out how to put them all in the back. Harry Kane. Phil Foden on the left, Jude Bellingham as number 10 and Bukayo Saka on the right? It sounds great, but what about Southgate finding a place for Cole Palmer and letting Rice do the dirty work in defensive midfield?
Related: Team guides for Euro 2024 part 10: England
We’ve been here before. Complaints of excessive caution haunt Southgate before, during and after every tournament. However, his position is largely inspired by the success of Portugal at the 2016 European Championship and France at the 2018 World Cup. They were pragmatic sides and hardly got the pulse racing. France in particular tended to play in moments under Didier Deschamps. Southgate, who has spent eight years trying to find the key to success, has the right to regard defensive stability as fundamental in international football, as coaches have less time in training to work on the kind of synchronized attacking movements that the best club teams determine.
How many gung-ho tournament winners can you remember? A crucial factor in Argentina’s victory at the 2022 World Cup was that others were willing to follow Lionel Messi. Italy, who defeated England in the Euro 2020 final, played fast and engaging football but knew how to defend. In fact, a defensive streak developed in Spain’s possession after Euro 2008, which made them so difficult to hurt at half-time. Vicente del Bosque, the Spanish coach, was criticized for playing in midfield at the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Championship. They weren’t entertaining, but they were in control and unbeatable. Germany, meanwhile, has struggled to adapt to the less physical nature since becoming world champions in 2014.
The feeling is that power is still just as important as technical quality. Yet the danger for England is caught between two approaches. Interestingly, they looked weaker after picking a technically tough side against Iceland last Friday. The counter-pressing from Palmer and Foden lacked intensity, while the balance between Kobbie Mainoo and Rice was off. Southgate had already noted that England were more open in midfield when Mainoo, a rare but raw talent who is still maturing, started the 2-2 draw against Belgium in March.
That last spot in midfield remains a concern. Circumstances have worked against Southgate. Clearly his preference would have been to deploy a double lock of Rice and Kalvin Phillips for the back four. Yet selecting Phillips was impossible after the midfielder’s disastrous loan from Manchester City to West Ham and Southgate’s problems have been exacerbated by Jordan Henderson’s decline since his move to Saudi Arabia.
A fit Henderson or an in-form Phillips would have started this tournament with Rice. It’s worth remembering that Southgate tried to open up in Qatar but dropped Mason Mount in midfield after a nail-biting draw with the USA. Henderson came in and played a huge role in England’s largely successful plan to nullify Kylian Mbappe in their unfortunate quarter-final defeat to France.
However, there is now uncertainty about the midfield position. Rice is an excellent anchor, but it would be a risk to leave him in defense for a defense that is missing Harry Maguire and still waiting for Luke Shaw, the side’s only left back, to recover from a hamstring injury. A variation of 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 is much more likely than the fantasy 4-1-4-1. Rice needs to have a partner and even then there are questions about his role. Some see the Arsenal midfielder as a number 8 rather than a number 6 due to his ability to drive with the ball, but Southgate disagrees.
“My role here is completely different,” Rice said last week. “At Arsenal I’m lucky because we have two other number 6s, so I can play one. At the moment I’m pretty much the only real 6. Tournament football is more about the team. I want to be disciplined. Gareth and Steve [Holland] like me for the back four.”
England needs that steel. They conceded two goals in seven games as they reached the final at Euro 2020 and kept three clean sheets in five games at the last World Cup. At the same time, England’s common failure in the biggest games is their inability to maintain possession in midfield.
Southgate talks a lot about the lack of a Luka Modric or a Toni Kroos, that deep-lying left player. His resources in midfield are far from enormous. Conor Gallagher is energetic and selfless. Mainoo is 19 and although he has looked extremely confident in training this week, there are questions about his defensive work. Adam Wharton is a fantastic passer, but only made his debut last week. Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is lining up to partner Rice against Serbia, continues to prove himself in the position. His long-range passing is second to none, but can he set the pace and is he disciplined enough?
“I think he will go for Trent,” said Wayne Rooney on The Overlap podcast this week. “I think he’s probably the most gifted player with the ball that we have. Defensively he’s all over the place. He can’t defend. I wouldn’t want him somewhere in the middle of the pitch.”
It’s up to Alexander-Arnold to prove Rooney wrong. The concern, however, is that England are slightly less physical, easier to play through and more likely to concede. It feels a bit anti-Gareth, almost as if England have suddenly turned away from the baggage that has taken them far in the last three tournaments. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Gallagher, the less fashionable option, comes in and harasses the opposition with his pressure in a knockout match.
But even then, the answer is not to sit back and rely on total defense. Embarrassment when leading 1-0 was England’s biggest problem against Croatia in 2018 and Italy in 2021. They have the strikers to scare everyone. The challenge is to ensure Kane, Bellingham, Saka and Foden don’t have to do too much.