Gareth Southgate is the luckiest man in football. The England manager was one minute away from losing his job, after another truly horrendous performance from his toothless, unimaginative team at Euro 2024.
Memories of the Three Lions’ painful exit at the hands of Iceland at the same stage eight years ago came flooding back, but defeat against Slovakia would have been unforgivable. Southgate was presiding over the biggest failure in the country’s entire footballing history, because England have never had a squad as talented as this one.
But in the fifth minute of stoppage time, his team finally registered their first shot on target of the match, and Southgate’s prayers were answered. “Who else?,” asked Jude Bellingham after finding the back of the net with an overhead-kick of the highest quality. The Real Madrid man conjured up the most important goal of Southgate’s reign out of nowhere, forcing extra-time in the process.
Harry Kane then nodded home the winner for England, who can still dream of a first piece of silverware since 1966. Southgate doesn’t deserve it, but he’s got another chance to carve out a lasting legacy.
That will soon evaporate if England play the same way in their quarter-final tie against Switzerland, though. The Three Lions will come up against elite opposition for the first time in the tournament on Saturday, and Southgate has to wise up if they’re to get over the line; individual brilliance won’t be enough to save him this time.
Same old Southgate
“With 15 minutes to go you wonder if he is out on his feet,” Southgate told BBC Sport when quizzed on Bellingham’s last-gasp equaliser. “Him and Harry Kane produce those moments and that is why you don’t makes changes when people are clamouring for more changes. We had enough attacking players on the pitch.”
That statement does not bode well for England’s hopes of going beyond the last eight. Southgate felt vindicated after the final whistle in Gelsenkirchen, having stressed the importance of not “losing continuity” by making too many tweaks to his team before the Slovakia tie. As was the case in all three group games, Southgate waited too long to start ringing the changes.
For the first time since 1986, England failed to register a shot on target in the first half of a major tournament fixture. Kane, Bellingham and Phil Foden were all poor, and England didn’t show nearly enough creativity to beat Slovakia’s high press. But the same set of players emerged for the second half, and England continued to toil in vain until the 66th minute, when Southgate finally reacted.
Cole Palmer came on for the abysmal Kieran Trippier and went out on the right wing, with Bukayo Saka moved to an unnatural left-back role due to the continued absence of Luke Shaw. The next substitution wasn’t made until six minutes from the end of regulation time, as Kobbie Mainoo made way for Eberechi Eze, despite the Manchester United teenager having easily been England’s standout player on the night. And then in the final minute of stoppage time, Southgate threw on Ivan Toney, who actually offered the Three Lions something different.
Toney’s intelligent movement helped cause chaos in the Slovakia defence from the long throw that led to Bellingham’s goal, and he then provided the assist for Kane in extra-time. Southgate admitted that the Brentford striker was “disgusted” by his cameo role, which was the overriding emotion for England fans for so long too, before relief took over.
Flawed blueprint
Even after England got their noses in front, there was no improvement in their general play. Southgate thought only of how to protect that lead, and instructed his team to sit deep in a 5-4-1 formation that invited Slovakia to come onto them.
Eze ended up at left-wing back as Saka moved to the opposite flank, while Ezri Konsa and Conor Gallagher came on for the second half of extra-time as Kane and Bellingham were taken out of the firing line. England clung on, but it wasn’t pretty, which has been the story of their tournament so far.
“We know we will do whatever it takes. If we have another game like this in the quarter-final, then so be it,” Kane said after the final whistle. “This team knows how to dig deep and that is exactly what we have done today. Of course we could have been better, we could have played better, but ultimately, it’s a results business. That is what we care about.”
There is no lack of team spirit in the England camp, that much is true. But if Slovakia can neutralise Southgate’s side, Switzerland have the potential to annihilate them.
They will be happy to let Trippier have the ball, knowing full well he will just cut inside onto his right foot and instantly slow down England’s build-up play, and the Swiss will also target the space Kyle Walker leaves when he bombs forward. The difference is, Murat Yakin’s team is full of quality players that can make the Three Lions pay for their mistakes.
England are still not pressing as a team either, which is creating huge gaps for the opposition to exploit. The likes of Breel Embolo, Ruben Vargas, Dan Ndoye and Granit Xhaka could have a field day if Southgate doesn’t realise that his blueprint for success is deeply flawed.
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Toney makes his case
One way to ensure that England do at least carry a far greater threat going forward against Switzerland would be to play with two upfront. Whether or not Southgate has the courage to drop Foden or Bellingham remains to be seen, but there is a real case for Toney coming in as the lead centre-forward, thereby giving Kane licence to tuck in and put his superb passing range to good use.
Toney likes to play on the last defender and will constantly make runs in behind. Too often England’s best players have been forced to play backwards or sideways because of a lack of options ahead of them, but the Brentford star is capable of stretching the opposition.
Ideally, Anthony Gordon would also come in on the left flank to give the the Three Lions some proper width. Foden’s unique talents have completely gone to waste in that position, and if Southgate isn’t going to use him as a No.10, the Manchester City playmaker might as well not be on the pitch.
Saka has also overstayed his welcome in the starting XI, at least on the right wing, because he’s offered none of the penetration in the final third that we saw at Arsenal last season. There is an argument for trying him at left-back again in the quarter-finals, but Palmer deserves a full 90 minutes in attack.
There are plenty of ways Southgate can turn things around; England have more strength in depth than any other other nation in Germany summer; he just cannot afford to do nothing. “We’ve been very lucky and we should thank our lucky stars,” former England full-back Gary Neville said on ITV Sport. “We were woeful and we’ve been woeful now for four games. We’ve got to change something dramatically now.”
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Coping with Guehi blow
The biggest bright spot of England’s Euro 2024 campaign to date has been Marc Guehi, who has proven to be far more than just a competent deputy for the injured Harry Maguire in the heart of the defence. But unfortunately, the Crystal Palace talisman will only be present at Dusseldorf Arena next weekend in a spectator capacity.
Guehi picked up his second yellow card of the tournament in the early stages of the Slovakia game, and will now serve a one-match suspension. He has Trippier to thank for that blow, as he was left with little choice but to take out David Strelec after being sold short by a hospital pass from the Newcastle defender.
John Stones had built up an excellent rapport with Guehi that gave England a solid foundation, but he will need a new centre-back partner against the Swiss. That job is set to go to Konsa or Lewis Dunk, assuming Southgate sticks to his usual 4-2-3-1 formation.
However, there was a time when the Three Lions boss regularly opted for a 3-4-3 system, which he should at least consider reviving for the quarter-finals. After all, the best win of Southgate’s entire tenure came when he went with three at the back, in the 2-0 last-16 victory over Germany at Euro 2020.
On that day, England had the luxury of using Shaw and Trippier in their favoured wing-back slots, and their relentless pressing prevented Germany from building up any kind of rhythm. This time around, Saka could do Shaw’s job, with Trent Alexander-Arnold drafted in on the right, back in the position he excels in for Liverpool after his failed foray into central midfield, and Stones, Walker and Konsa or Joe Gomez could then form the last line of defence.
Taking this approach would be even riskier than the 4-4-2 option with Toney, and completely against Southgate’s character, but the rewards could be great.
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Standards must be higher
The biggest problem Southgate must address is England’s lethargy in possession. They haven’t moved the ball with any real purpose or confidence, and have become far too predictable. Switzerland, meanwhile, are the only team to have landed a glove on Germany so far, and they completely outclassed Italy in the round of 16. No one will be surprised if they repeat the trick against England, who have spectacularly failed to live up to their tag as pre-tournament favourites.
In order to change that dynamic, Southgate has to give the players some tough love. England shouldn’t be coming away from the Slovakia tie thinking it was a job well done, as Bellingham seemed to in his emotional post-match interview with ITV.
“A good win, through to the next round. Very happy,” he said. “It’s been tough the last week or so to keep the negative energy out of the camp. We showed the character that England’s missed. I think the performance was really good until their goal and even after. We had massive control of the game, always threatening in the final third, maybe just lacking the final touch to create big chances. It’s going to be important for us going forward, definitely.”
It’s on Southgate to demand much higher standards. Bellingham was unstoppable in his first season at Real Madrid, but aside from his two goals, has been ineffective and sloppy in an England shirt this summer. The same criticism could be levelled at Foden, the Premier League’s best player in 2023-24, while Declan Rice hasn’t shown any of the bravery with the ball at his feet that turned him into an instant hero among the Arsenal faithful.
They haven’t been helped by Southgate’s tactical ineptitude, but there is no excuse for how far their performance levels have plummeted. It begs the question: does Southgate command the full respect of the dressing room? There has been no lack of effort, but England’s top stars haven’t played like they have any real faith in his methods.
Out of his depth
From the outside, it certainly feels as though Southgate is out of his depth. “We had a problem we couldn’t solve: getting the ball into the second line of the pitch,” the 53-year-old admitted after the win over Slovakia. “There’s a big difference and the game against the Swiss will throw completely different tactical problems.”
He can identify where England are struggling, but doesn’t seem to have any clue how to put out the fires. Most fans have had enough, as evidenced by the widespread calls for him to be sacked at half-time on Sunday.
The celebratory mood around the team will quickly give way to anxiety as the Switzerland tie edges closer. Southgate is still scraping over the line against the lesser nations, but his record against the elite leaves much to be desired. England have played 23 games against teams ranked in FIFA’s top 10, winning only seven. Switzerland are currently sitting in 19th, so won’t affect that record, but it would be right up there with Southgate’s biggest wins if he oversees their downfall, because they are playing so much better than the Three Lions right now.
The Southgate era is still heading towards a humiliating end, and the Swiss looked poised to strike the final blow; unless of course he has a miraculous epiphany, which is highly unlikely. England fans should start bracing themselves for another excruciating 90 minutes in Dusseldorf, and the prospect of 58 years of hurt being extended for at least another two.
