England have some of the most exciting attacking options of any European country. Photo: Shutterstock/John Patrick Fletcher
In qualifying at least, Gareth Southgate did a great job of rebuking any doubters. Of the 33 such games he played as England manager, he scored 27 wins and 112 goals. Add to this a string of major tournaments consisting of semi-finals, finals and quarter-finals, and any criticism of his record may seem the height of contradiction. And yet, as he leads the nation to win or lose at Euro 2024, more than ever it appears the fan base is split in two, evenly divided between “one nation led by Gareth” fundamentalists and skeptics convinced that it won't get stuck. in Germany against the first half-decent opponents he faces.
The past week is a prime example of this. On the one hand, Southgate received well-deserved plaudits for his first home win over Italy since 1977, a fitting exclamation point on a qualifying campaign that England have dominated since Harry Kane's record goal for his country in Naples last March. On the other hand, he has raised eyebrows by relying (despite an abundance of young talent in every position) on Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips, two players who have dropped out of their clubs' first-team squads. For all Phillips' reputation as a treble winner, he started four of 61 games in Manchester City's title-winning season. And City lost two of them.
It's the old “teacher's pet” scenario, in which blind loyalty can trump any criteria of merit. Just take Jordan Henderson. All evidence suggests that the midfielder's chosen course at Al Ettifaq is nothing more than a desolate twilight zone, in a team surrounded by untested Saudis and the odd Brazilian emerging from under the hill. One of his last matches, away to Abha, was watched by 976 people. But despite all this, Southgate extols his virtues so fondly that in honor of his “leadership” he will qualify for next summer's Euros.
Justification? This selection is not a popularity contest. Perhaps so. But Southgate's logic breaks down when he claims he doesn't understand why Henderson is being booed by England fans. The answer is simple: Many people think Henderson is a hypocrite because he was a “great LGBTQ advocate.” rights. He has thrown in his lot with a regime that pushes the gay community to the very peripheries of existence. Since true leadership means the consistent application of principles, he cannot expect to return to Wembley as if nothing had happened.
Fortunately, Southgate will have no shortage of alternatives if Henderson fails to fly in next June. The reality is that he leads a team of unprecedented strength. Even the golden generation of 2004 did not have such an abundance of wealth in all areas. Among the strikers alone, the competition is so intense that Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, Pep Guardiola's two most reliable stars, are threatening to remain on the bench. To comb this team is to see a brilliant constellation of talent. Four of them – Kane, Bellingham, Grealish and Declan Rice – received a total of £375 million in transfer fees last year alone.
England had a stunning starting XI at Euro 2004 but missed out on penalties against Portugal. Photo: Getty Images/Martin Rose
And this is what lies at the heart of the disappointment with Southgate. He has poster boys of both Real Madrid and Bayern at his disposal. In Foden and Bukayo Saka, he has two wonderkids whose transfer fees are in the nine-figure range. The 20-year-old Bellingham has the gift of not just this generation, but perhaps any other. So is it unreasonable to hope that with such a smorgasbord of luxury goods he can create a masterpiece?
England are undoubtedly a force under Southgate. Favorites? France, Spain and Germany are poised to seriously challenge this assumption in eight months. The only major caveat is that England matches are not what you would call match watching. It just doesn't have the luxurious aesthetic one would expect from such an exciting lineup. The double win over Italy is undoubtedly impressive, but this is the same Italy that has won just 11 of its last 26 matches and was knocked out of qualifying for the last World Cup by North Macedonia. Some context matters.
Is Southgate guilty of being too cautious in his choices and approach? Photo: Reuters/Karl Resin
Southgate knows he has an impossible job ahead of him. Despite seven years of almost uninterrupted succession, he knows the only irrefutable confirmation will come in the form of a major trophy. Unfortunately, questions still remain about the final chase for this trophy. With favorable draws at his last three tournaments, Southgate found himself tactically outmaneuvered by Croatia, Italy and France at a critical juncture. Italy's result still stands – how did England fail to achieve their dominance in front of a ferocious home crowd? The missed lead in the second minute gave rise to the theory that Southgate's instinctive caution was to blame.
It seems harsh to judge a supremely decent man on such tiny criteria. However, these are the boundaries that separate great people from highly competent ones. And many England fans, to be fair, will still put Southgate on the other side of that line. Whenever England's style of play tests patience, it is tempting to return to the same thought experiment: would we see such a conservative, painstaking approach suited to a lower-tier Premier League team if Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp were at the helm? This is, to put it mildly, unlikely. Southgate will therefore face a major challenge in his fourth tournament in this role. Either he will prove himself as a handmaiden to English success, or as a handbrake on this team's full potential.
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