Classic England, from euphoria to nothingness. Let the beast out, the whole nation is pressuring the trainer

This is classic England. One day you’re up, the next day you’re written off. For Gareth Southgate, the coach of the national team, it’s almost a daily bread in recent months.

At the World Cup, according to many figures in the island’s football, the conservative coach is once again clinging to regressive tactics and extending his favorite players.

The whole nation is now calling on Southgate: Enough, enough, change must come.

The pressure is on despite a comfortable position in the table, where England are significantly closer to progressing thanks to the luxury of a 6-2 win against Iran. They would have to lose to Wales by four goals. But the motivation is the first place in the group. If the English finished second, they would probably face the Netherlands in the round of 16.

There are many things that make fans and pundits drink blood in the English team. The duo from Chelsea, Mason Mount – Raheem Sterling, is out of form, and right-back Kieran Trippier’s performances so far are also not liked. But Southgate gets the biggest “soda” for the minimal use of Phil Foden’s extraordinary talent.

The 22-year-old Manchester City star did not get on the field at all in England’s bloodless and sterile performance against the USA.

Southgate was heavily criticized for this, but still stood his ground. “The fans booed us, but that won’t affect my feelings towards the team. There’s a lot of hype around us, but we’re on the right track. We have to stay calm,” said the 52-year-old coach.

The English media was immediately flooded with lamentations from experts. According to them, Foden is a generational talent and it is incomprehensible that he sits on the bench in the national team. Release the beast, fans demand.

Michael Owen: “I was surprised that our most talented player sat out the game on the bench.

Gary Neville: “Big disappointment. I respect Gareth, but France, Spain and Brazil should have Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the starting line-up.”

Alan Shearer: “The England game was tragic. Foden has to play, he just has to.”

Micah Richards: “It’s time to unleash the fearless Phil Foden. He’s in life form, we need him.”

Team-mate Declan Rice called Foden the most gifted English footballer, while Gary Neville compared him to the iconic Paul Gascoigne.

“England has not had many similar players in history who can pick up the ball and with their individual skill create an outnumbering in small spaces in midfield,” he said.

It is here that another potential discrepancy between Southgate’s thinking and that of the majority can be seen. She would like to see Foden in the backup three, in the role of a more advanced playmaker, which has been held by the very unremarkable Mason Mount in Qatar.

Southgate, however, is more likely to put Foden on the wing. In addition, if instead of another young superstar Bukaya Saka, Mount and Sterling remain in the lineup and England do not convince again, the coach will turn the whole country against him.

“We don’t feel it’s right to put Phil on the bench because he doesn’t play there at the club,” Southgate said of his view, which several island media described as “bizarre”.

But at least the coach admitted the changes, although at the same time he clearly declared that he would save money with them.

“We want to win games, so we have to find the right balance between freshness and stability. We will choose a team that we believe in. That is our priority,” he stated vaguely.