Gareth Southgate would have preferred not to nominate all of his regulars when announcing his squad for the current Nations League games. His agreement with Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was seen as exemplary for the view of the England coach. Southgate had sent him on holiday early after a grueling season with the club. However, he could not afford this considerate leniency with many other players – given the challenging group opponents Germany, Italy and Hungary.
That’s why Southgate finally scraped together a squad that is impressive on paper, but not on the pitch. Precisely because most players would need a similar creative break as Henderson. And so the English traded a listless performance on Saturday to a 0-1 draw in Hungary, during which the viewer suspected that Southgate’s pros would rather be chilling on the banks of the Danube in muggy Budapest at the same time. The first defeat in a duel with Hungary in 60 years immediately raised alarm in the ever-excited motherland of football ahead of the classic international match against Germany. On the one hand, this should be the basis for a top performance, but on the other hand, it should be used again so shortly before the summer break – and the Three Lions didn’t have much strength left.
To illustrate the problems Southgate faces (and warned against) one has to start on the defensive. In May, the national coach called up an incredible eleven defenders in his 26-man squad, seven of whom alone have proven themselves as central defenders in the national jersey. However, the plentiful selection was suddenly reduced when Ben White first pulled out due to injury and it also became apparent that both Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guéhi would hardly be fit for the first two games in time. Of the remaining four options, regulars John Stones (Manchester City) and Harry Maguire (Manchester United) only returned on the last Premier League matchday two weeks ago after constant complaints, while Kyle Walker (City) was last injured was not used at all. Therefore, only Conor Coady (Wolverhampton) was available as a playable warhorse – which of course was not enough to form a befitting defensive chain.
To calm the outrage, Southgate tried to look at the bigger picture
Because Southgate wanted to spare Stones with regard to the game against Germany and at the same time expressed concerns about the sprint and attack qualities of a Coady/Maguire duo, he decided on the only alternative from his point of view: a three-man team consisting of Walker, Coady and Maguire . However, this arrangement drew criticism from the sometimes merciless island press, which could not understand why the coaching team against the Hungarians – precisely because of the tense personnel situation – did not rely on a back four from the start to save at least one central defender. On Monday, the influential newspapers conducted page-long tactical debates. One in particular got off badly: Gareth Southgate. the Times even yelled at him to “drop his safety mindset” and choose a “bolder formation.” Because until the switch to a 4-3-3, “no one” would have felt comfortable in the 3-4-3 alignment. Southgate, on the other hand, insisted none of his players had played in an “unfamiliar position”.
One of the possibly overplayed professionals in England’s national team: striker Harry Kane (in white) struggles in the game against Hungary.
(Foto: Nigel Keene/Imago)
To calm the indignation, Southgate tried to look at the bigger picture: Even before these internationals, he suspected that his team could face “some painful results”. Because he, Southgate, now has to experiment in competition mode due to “the elimination of friendlies” in order to draw his conclusions for the World Cup in Qatar. For this he is willing to pay the price of “the inevitable” that comes with defeat: namely media criticism. In his cleverly worded taunt to Island Boulevard, Southgate made it clear that he would “burn out” some players if he didn’t divide up the game time appropriately.
The dispute between Southgate and the reporters clouds the view of the real state of affairs around the national team. For the first time since the legendary 5-1 win over Germany in the 2001 World Cup qualifier in Munich’s Olympic Stadium, the English delegation is traveling to their archrival as favorites. At the last European Championship, thanks to their victory in the round of 16 in London-Wembley, the English even managed to bring the era of world champion coach Joachim Löw to an immediate collapse. The English have now overtaken the Germans in the world rankings. Southgate is now feeling this in the form of increased expectations. After all, there are only two more games left after the Germany duel (against Italy and Hungary) – before the players finally go on vacation.
