Euro 2024: England Escape Slovakia

England took on Slovakia earlier today in Gelsenkirchen, Germany at the Arena Aufschalke in the Euro 2024 Round of 16. England were heavy favorites entering the match, but their form coming into the game was worrying for many of their fans. They been stuck in second gear for the entirety of the group stage, having only scored two goals in three matches. There have been many questions about the tactics and line-ups put out by manager Gareth Southgate, with many supporters clamoring for changes to the starting XI and to have a generally more positive and attacking style of football. Slovakia, for their part, stunned Belgium in the group stage and did just enough to progress out of their group in 3rd place, so they would not be pushovers. Slovakia have only played England 5 times and lost 4 of them, but they did manage a draw against the Three Lions at Euro 2016.

The match was a little slow to start, with England yet again content to pass it along the back line. It was possession, but it was passive possession without too much venturing forward. Slovakia were the team interested in getting forward when on the ball, and they were creating a lot more than England did. The Slovakians were rewarded for their endeavors on 25 minutes when they broke forward on a long ball over the top, and got the opening goal through winger/forward Ivan Schranz. England’s back line failed to clear the ball over the top, and it was controlled on the edge of the box by forward David Strelec. Schranz was on an intelligent run in behind the England defense, and Strelec found him with a reverse pass directly into his path. Schranz hit the ball with the outside of his left foot, and England keeper Jordan Pickford could do nothing to keep it out of the right corner of his goal. Terrible defending from England, but all credit to Slovakia for taking advantage of the situation. A good goal, no two ways about it. The Slovakia supporters in the stadium lost their minds in celebration, and rightfully so.

England got back on the ball fairly quickly, but again there was no rhythm or intention about their play. They just kept passing it along the back line and occasionally into shallow midfield, with the Slovaks more than happy to sit back deep and defend their lead. England forced a series of corners towards the end of the half, but they could not find a breakthrough. At halftime, England were down 1-0.

The second half was much of the same in the first 15 minutes or so, and England were almost embarrassed by Strelec again when England lost possession off a throw-in and Strelec let go of a shot from the halfway line. Pickford was too far off his line to get to it, but mercifully, the shot faded away and to the right at the last moment. Had England conceded a second in such embarrassing fashion, it likely would have been match over and an early flight home. They were really hanging on at times. England thought they had an equalizer on 55 minutes when winger/forward/midfielder/who knows Phil Foden tapped in from close range, but the goal was (correctly) called back for offside. Foden was just ahead of the ball when it was played to him, although he didn’t need to be given that he was in acres of space. Frustrating, but it showed that England can score fairly easily when they move the ball a little bit quicker.

England had another “almost” moment when a cross from the left side found the head of striker Harry Kane about 7 yards out from goal, but his header lacked direction and the ball went wide of Slovak keeper Martin Dubravka’s goal. You’d have bet the mortgage on Kane scoring from there, which made his miss feel like it just wasn’t going to be England’s day. Midfielder Declan Rice later saw a long range effort strike Dubravka’s right hand post, after which it bounced back to Kane for an attempt. His scissor kick was too powerful though, and it bounced harmlessly over the top of the goal.

Southgate did make some changes to try and get some life into the team, and England did get better as the clock ticked towards full time. England were truly desperate towards the end, and did not look like they would be able to conjure up an equalizer. They were piling men forward though finally, so it was always going to be a nervy finish for both sets of fans in the stadium and around the world.

Late into stoppage time, England were awarded a throw-in on the right wing. Right back Kyle Walker took it, and he launched the ball into the box as hard as he could. It was flicked on by the head of England center back Marc Guehi, and it fell directly to midfielder Jude Bellingham about 10 yards from the goal. The ball was high in the air though, so Bellingham had to contort his body and legs to get in position to strike it. He caught the ball sweetly with an overhead scissor kick, and it bounced into the left hand corner of Dubravka’s goal with him rooted to the spot. An equalizer! Not only that, but a stunning equalizer on 95 minutes! England fans were ecstatic, and there was massive collective sigh from everyone as well. Slovakia were stunned, having defended so well for 94 minutes. The match ended barely a minute or so after that, and instead of going home, England were allowed to fight on for another 30 minutes.

England kept the pressure on that they had sustained for the final 10 minutes or so of normal time, and were rewarded for that pressure just as extra time got underway. A free kick from the right wing was crossed into the box by substitute midfielder Cole Palmer, only for it to meet the fist of Dubravka, who punched it out. It only went as far as the edge of the box though, where it was hit back into the mix by substitute midfielder Ebrechi Eze. The ball bounced into the air, and it was flicked across the face of goal by the head of substitute striker Ivan Toney. The ball hung in the air for a split second, and Kane was on hand to head it home from about 3 yards out! Great positional instinct from Kane, but even better instincts from Eze and Toney to keep the ball in a dangerous area. Well done to Toney in particular, who had come on just before Bellingham’s goal and likely didn’t think he would have much of a role to play. Slovakia failed to properly clear their lines though, and England punished them for it.

However, there was still 29 minutes of extra time left to play. England were not home and dry just yet, and Slovakia reminded them of that a few times with some “nearly” moments of their own. Maddeningly, England reverted to dropping deep and defending again after they took the lead. They were inviting pressure, but some good defending and fairly routine saves from Pickford saw England snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was insanely nerve-wracking, but they did just enough to secure passage to the quarterfinals.

Once again though, England were not good enough throughout the match and probably did not fully deserve to win. They defended well for the most part, but the midfield was an absolute mess and there were long passages of play where they did not create any chances. Bellingham’s goal in the 95th minute was England’s first shot on goal for the whole match! That’s inexcusable. A team with this level of talent on it should not be struggling as much as they do in attack. But its the same story as the last three matches – players are being played out of position and they have been coached to play passively and retain possession.

I think Southgate is done after this tournament. Unless England go on and win the whole thing (unlikely), Southgate will be out of a job. It’s monumentally frustrating to watch this England team, and most of that is on Southgate. He refuses to significantly change his line-ups, and seems intent on employing players out of position. Foden is useless on the left wing. Fullback Kieran Trippier is even more useless at left back. Foden and Trippier play as if they have never met one another. Palmer is not a right winger. Eze is not a left winger or a left back. Kane frequently has to drop deep to get on the ball, and that is not where he is most effective. There are a lot of questionable decisions being made by Southgate before the lads even set foot on the pitch, and they are not being set up for success.

One silver lining for the next match is that Southgate is going to have to change things up out of necessity. Guehi was (questionably) yellow-carded early in the match, which was his second yellow of the tournament. He will miss the next match on a 1 game suspension. Trippier was also injured late on, so he might not feature next Saturday either. There would be no better time for left back Luke Shaw to find some fitness. If he is not fit though, who will Southgate deploy at left back? Unclear at this time. As has happened in the last three matches, England still have questions that remain unsolved. Changes need to happen and will happen, but the extent of them remains unclear. Honestly though, even with all these players out of position, England should still be relatively comfortable against a side like Slovakia. The fact that it took a world-class goal in the 95th minute just to prolong the match is an indictment of Southgate’s poor tactics. Keeping passive possession is fine sometimes, but not when you are down 1-0 for close to 70 minutes!

In an attempt to not be completely doom and gloom, there were a few positives. It was right of Southgate to start Kobbie Mainoo over Conor Gallagher in midfield alongside Rice. Mainoo was arguably England’s most consistent player today. Southgate was also right to bring on Palmer, Eze, and Toney. That is undeniable. He waited a long time to make those changes, particularly in the case of Toney, but they were the correct changes nonetheless. England looked much sharper in attack with two forwards on the pitch instead of just one. He adjusted his tactics, and with a good amount of luck, the adjustments paid off. England also scored two goals for the first time the whole tournament, and they did well to slow Slovakia down in the second half and extra time.

As has been stated before though, England must improve. They will play Switzerland in Dusseldorf, Germany next Saturday (July 6 at 9:00 a.m. PDT) in the quarterfinals, and the Swiss are significantly more talented than Slovakia. Eventually, England’s luck is going to run out. You do need luck to win at a major tournament, but you can’t solely rely on luck. The team has to be set up correctly and the style of play can’t be limited to passive possession. There’s still an opportunity to change things!

Three Lions on the Shirts!

Euro 2024: England Held by Slovenia, But Still Win Group C

England played their third and final group match of Euro 2024 earlier today, taking on Slovenia in Cologne, Germany. It was a scorching hot day in northwest Germany, so both sides knew going in this could end up being a slog. England knew that a win and possibly even a draw would see them top the group, depending on the result between Denmark vs. Serbia. England were also through to the knockout stages as of yesterday, when Albania lost to Spain. The rules around progression from the group stages are different this year, with the top two teams from each group advancing, along with the four best 3rd place teams (based on points, goal differential, and other factors). It can be kind of tricky to explain, but the main takeaway is that England had already clinched progression to the knockout stages before this match even started.

Slovenia were quick out of the blocks, and forced the first shot on goal of the match. It was a tame header from striker Benjamin Sesko though, which England keeper Jordan Pickford collected easily. England eventually got on the ball more, but when they did it was the usual harmless and tepid position that they’ve been guilty of the last two matches. No one was willing to run forward, no one was willing to pass it forward, and no one was willing to dribble a little bit and take on their defender. This lasted for about 20 minutes or so. England did have the ball in the back of the net around the 25 minute mark after a neat pass and move and from winger(?) Phil Foden and midfielder Declan Rice, which was tapped in by winger Bukayo Saka. Unfortunately, the goal was (correctly) ruled out by the linesman for offside. Foden was about half yard behind his man when Rice played him the ball. Frustrating, but that moment should have provided a formula for an England goal. When they move the ball quickly in attack, the Slovenians won’t be able to keep up.

Unfortunately, England seemed to ignore this formula and continue to play passive and slow possession that often ended up in nothing happening. On some occasions, they would lose possession in dangerous areas and allow the Slovenians to run at them. There were one or two half chances for them in the first half that made Three Lions supporters sweat more than the heat did. Make no mistake – Slovenia were not over-awed by England nor the occasion, particularly in the first half. They were well organized in defense, and keeper Jan Oblak had little to do. At halftime it was 0-0, with Slovenia surely the happier of the two sides.

England manager Gareth Southgate brought on midfielder Kobbie Mainoo at halftime for the ineffective Conor Gallagher, and after about 4 or 5 minutes, England were in possession and control of the ball a lot more. That is not solely down to Mainoo, but he certainly helped. They were still struggling to create clear chances, but they had snuffed out Slovenia’s attack for the most part. Substitute midfielder Cole Palmer and winger Anthony Gordon eventually came on, and it was these subs that were probably England’s best players on the day. Palmer got on the ball and created a half-chance for himself, after which Gordon did well to dribble at his man and create a chance. There were one or two other “good buildup but misplaced final pass” situations for England, but the match ended 0-0.

Fortunately for England, Denmark vs. Serbia also ended 0-0, so England won Group C on 5 points. Denmark finished second, with the Slovenians third. Serbia are eliminated. Group C ended up being a bit of a snoozer overall. Very few goals and a lot of 0-0 draws. England will play on next Sunday, with a likely opponent being the Netherlands, but that is not set in stone as of yet due to tomorrow’s fixtures. But by winning the group, England have avoided the fearsome quartet of Spain, Portugal, Germany, and France, all of whom are on the other side of the bracket. They cannot play any of those teams until the final.

But that is about the extent of the good news. England’s performance today was not a reassuring one for fans, not by a long shot. They failed to score for the first time this tournament against a side they should likely be scoring against. Again, the play was slow and lethargic for long portions of the match. There was very little effort from England’s players to get forward and take chances. This has to change. The system is certainly part of the problem, because it’s not allowing the players to play where they excel. I think the lack of productivity feeds into itself, because the body language of the players today was very nervous and anxious.

Southgate needs to fix this, and it needs to be fixed now. He started Gallagher in place of midfielder Trent Alexander-Arnold today, but that was the only change he made from the last match and it didn’t do anything. Bringing on Mainoo, Palmer, and Gordon was correct, but Gordon got little to no time to do anything. Foden still looks lost on the left wing. Midfielder Jude Bellingham was anonymous for the second straight match. Striker Harry Kane was dropping deep too often and not leading the line like he is supposed to. Left back Kieran Trippier needs to be dropped, too. He slows down play far too much and still acts like he has no idea Foden exists in front of him.

One potential solution would be to drop Gallagher and move Bellingham to the number 8 position, alongside Rice at the 6. That would allow Foden to move into his natural number 10 position, and Gordon can take his place on the left wing. If left back Luke Shaw ever gets himself fit, he needs to be played over Trippier. These are just a few of many ways in which this team could be improved. Most importantly of course, the manager must take the shackles off these lads. They need to be encouraged to run forward and take on players, because most of them have the natural talent to do so.

Southgate seems to have made up his mind, though. He is going to live and die by this “system” of his. Hopefully, he at least starts Mainoo, Palmer, and Gordon in the next match. We need energy and drive in this team, not passive possession. Happy to see the lads moving on and winning the group of course, but much improvement is still needed.

Three Lions on the Shirts!

Euro 2024: Tepid England Draw with Denmark

England’s second group game of Euro 2024 was held against Denmark in Frankfurt on June 20. Thanks to the draw between Slovenia and Serbia earlier in the day, England would win Group C and qualify for the knockout stages if they beat Denmark. The stadium atmosphere at kickoff was wonderful, with both sets of fans in full voice during their respective national anthems. Denmark are widely regarded as the second best team in this group in terms of talent, with some truly top class players such as midfielder Christian Eriksen, striker Rasmus Højlund, defender Andreas Christensen, and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. England would need to be at or near their best to make sure all three points were taken.

And for the first 20 minutes or so, England looked very strong. Aside from an early and rather tame shot straight at England keeper Jordan Pickford, England dominated the possession and chance creation. Midfielder Phil Foden appeared to be in better form than his previous match, and he created a good chance for himself with some neat dribbling before misfiring on his shot.

England took the lead on 18 minutes after a Danish defensive error. Their left back was lazy in chasing down a loose ball, and he failed to see England right back Kyle Walker blazing towards him over his right shoulder. Walker stole the ball off the defender, then dribbled it into the box. He put a cutback cross in towards winger Bukayo Saka, but the ball took a few deflections before falling straight to the feet of striker Harry Kane. Kane was only about 6 yards out, and he tapped the ball home with the inside of his left foot like he was at home in his garden. Great bit of effort from Walker to set it up, and the Three Lions got a little bit of luck with the deflections in the box. 1-0 to England!

But once England had the lead, something very predictable and very annoying happened. England began to sit back in defense and let the Danes have the ball. They were content to sit back and break up attacks, while reticent to go forward in search of game-killing goal. This has been a hallmark of manager Gareth Southgate’s tenure, and it’s been especially apparent at this tournament. That’s how they continued to play as the half wore on, and it was downright boring to watch.

As was foreseeable, England were punished for their conservative approach on 34 minutes when Denmark midfielder Morten Hjulmand lashed home a low and powerful shot from long range. England had lost the ball in a dangerous area, and suddenly Denmark had men in numbers near the box. No one stepped up to close down Hjulmand, and his finish from 20 yards or so beat Pickford at his far post, rattling in off the inside of the post. The Danish fans erupted in cheers while England could only look on. The shot was truly exquisite, but England fans felt like the equalizer could have been avoided with more aggressive attacking play. The half finished 1-1, with Denmark the happier of the two sides.

The second half was even more tepid than the first half. Foden was trying to make things happen, but no one else around him was really doing anything. Denmark still had plenty of the ball, and there were spells where they looked more likely to score than England did. Midfielder Jude Bellingham was anonymous, Kane went missing after his goal, and England were incredibly passive when in possession. They even lost possession numerous times in dangerous areas, and had to be bailed out by yet another strong defensive performance from center backs Marc Guehi and John Stones.

The match ended 1-1, with both sides only creating half chances sporadically as the match fizzled out. There were some nervy moments for England whenever Denmark won a corner, but the points were shared at the end of the match. England remained top of Group C on 4 points, but missed out on clinching the group and moving on to the knockouts. A victory over Slovenia in the final group game guarantees progression. A draw may also do it if Denmark draws with or loses to Serbia.

England were bad in this match. No two ways about it. Outside the first 20 minutes, it was a terrible performance. There are several issues with the current set up of this team from a tactical perspective, and Southgate is to blame for not fixing them when they became apparent in the last match against Serbia. For starters, it seems that he has to choose between Foden and Bellingham. They both shine in the attacking midfield, but they are not as good when played elsewhere. Foden was good today, but Bellingham was not. Bellingham was good against Serbia, but Foden was not. Southgate has to make a choice there. I suggest dropping Foden for a natural left winger in Anthony Gordon, then bring on Foden for Bellingham late in the match if need be. I understand the level of Foden’s talent and that he would start on almost any team he played for, but for England he has to take a backseat to Bellingham. This team is unbalanced, and the Foden/Bellingham issue is a big reason why.

I also don’t know why Southgate insists on playing Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield when that is clearly not his best position. He plays right back for his club, although he is much more like a traditional right winger given his talents in passing and crossing. For whatever reason though, Southgate thinks he should play as a defensive midfielder next to Declan Rice. There’s just no other way to explain it – he just simply isn’t meant to play there. He also needs to be benched, with either Conor Gallagher or Kobbie Mainoo starting ahead of him.

Perhaps the biggest issue though is the style of play. Not only is it conservative, right now its uncoordinated as well. There were multiple instances where Pickford and his back line were not on the same page in terms of ball distribution. Pickford clearly wanted to play it long, but players like Walker and Rice were frequently directing him to play it short to a nearby defender. Pickford just ignored them, tried to play it long into a sea of red shirts, and Denmark would inevitably end up with the ball again. England would get stuck in their own half for minutes on end because Southgate is insisting on style of play that his players are not accustomed to. Our players have a ton of experience at building from the back and establishing possession that way, and Southgate must employ a style that suits them.

I get that England are still in a good position to get out of the group. It’s not really the results that are the problem. The problem is that England are simply better than this, and we have a manager who is failing to get the most out of his players. He puts square pegs into round holes all over the pitch, then doesn’t let them play attacking football anymore after scoring the first goal. It’s one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever seen. We can easily score 3 or 4 goals against almost anyone! I am imploring anyone within shouting distance of Southgate to tell him to let these lads play!

My biggest fear is that all this criticizing is in vain. Southgate is likely going to continue playing this way. Hopefully he at least changes the team selection for the Slovenia match, but he is virtually guaranteed to play conservative again if England take the lead. Many are calling for the Football Association to sack Southgate mid-tournament, but that isn’t likely to happen either. What is for sure is that Southgate has a lot he needs to figure out, and he needs to figure it out quickly. Even though England are likely to get out of the group, the opposition in the knockout rounds will be much tougher. It’ll be another lost tournament for England if they can’t figure out their tactics and best line-up. Slovenia on Tuesday at noon PDT in Cologne!

Three Lions on the Shirts!

Premier League: Frustrating Defeat at Arsenal

Manchester United travelled south to London earlier today for their fourth match of the Premier League season against Arsenal. The rivalry with Arsenal dates back to the 1990s and hasn’t really cooled off over the years. Both of these clubs have title aspirations and top-4 aspirations, so even though this fixture was early in the season, it carried a lot of significance. United manager Erik ten Hag knew that the Red Devils’ away form against the top teams needed to improve, and this match was a great chance to do so. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had his side off a good start, but he knew United would be a very tough test even at home.

The first half was fairly even, in a way. Arsenal were the better team going forward. They were creating chances, but their attacks were being consistently repelled by a dogged United defense. Left back Diogo Dalot and right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka were doing well at shutting down Arsenal’s talented wingers. United had more of the possession in the first 45, but their possession was usually in their own half. Keeper Andre Onana was doing very well with playing the ball out from the back, which is the precise reason he was brought in. Interestingly, United scored with their first shot on target on 27 minutes.

Midfielder Christian Eriksen picked up a loose ball in his own half and brought it forward into space before finding striker Marcus Rashford ahead of him on the left wing. Rashford was given space by the Arsenal back four to cut inside the box onto his right foot, and he unleashed a vicious shot that Gunners keeper Aaron Ramsey could only parry onto the inside of the post and into the goal. Emirates Stadium was stunned, given that goal was very much against the run of play. Happy to see Rashford finally off the mark for the season. He was our leading scorer last season and he needs to get back to that form. 1-0 United!

The celebrations in the away fans’ section were short-lived though, as Arsenal were level just 35 seconds after the restart. Arsenal captain and midfielder Martin Ødegaard was given too much space on the edge of the box by the United defense after being found by winger Gabriel Martinelli. He let a long-range shot go that was hit with power and placement, and Onana couldn’t get to it in time. Two goals in roughly a minute electrified a match that had been somewhat dull up to that point. Oddly though, those were the two most notable moments of the first half. Two moments of madness in a sea of drudgery. It was 1-1 at halftime with all to play for.

The second half was similarly slow-paced for the first 25-30 minutes or so. United were creating more chances, but Arsenal were holding them off effectively and creating the odd chance or two of their own. Arsenal wanted a penalty when striker Kai Havertz tumbled in the box under a challenge from AWB, and referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot. After a VAR check though, the penalty call was rescinded. There wasn’t a lot of contact, if any, on Havertz before he went down, and Taylor deemed it a non-penalty. More on Taylor below. Arsenal then went close when winger Bukayo Saka got on the end of a cross at close range, but his shot was straight at Onana.

A troubling issue for United were the injuries sustained by center backs Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof as the second half wore on. They were already without center back Raphael Varane and left back Luke Shaw due to injury, so options were extremely thin. It was eventually the out-of-favor Harry Maguire and 35-year-old Jonny Evans in central defense for United towards the end. The injuries affected this result, no doubt.

The Red Devils thought they had a winner however on 88 minutes when substitute winger Alejandro Garnacho was put through on goal. He carried through the attacking third, after which he slotted home past Ramsey to the ecstasy of United supporters in the away end. However, Taylor and VAR needed to have their say again. Somehow, mystifyingly, the replay official deemed Garnacho to have been offside when he received the ball, despite him appearing to be level or even slightly behind the last Arsenal defender. The goal was ruled out and we continued at 1-1.

Arsenal earned a corner in the 5th minute of stoppage time, and the ball was swung into the box towards the back post. Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was there, and he bundled home a deflected finish past Onana to give Arsenal a lead they wouldn’t surrender. It was a heartbreaker for the Red Devils, but they didn’t give up. They threw men forward for an equalizer, and were likely denied a penalty when substitute striker (and United debutante) Rasmus Højlund was wrestled to the ground in the box. Curiously, no replay was shown on TV feeds of this incident. A VAR check was supposedly conducted, but no penalty was given.

Arsenal got a third in the 11th minute of stoppage time when striker Gabriel Jesus caught United on the break. There weren’t enough men back to stop him, and he faked out his marker rather thoroughly before slotting past Onana from close range. It was insult to injury, really. Arsenal won 3-1.

The referee was not helpful today, but United were really hindered by the injuries to the center backs. This was heading towards a respectable 1-1 before the defense finally cracked under the Arsenal pressure. Rice was completely alone at the back post for the winner. Who was supposed to be marking him? United conceded far too many corners and there was finally one too many. The third goal wouldn’t have happened if it stayed 1-1, as United would have had more men back to defend. But the bigger issue is the fact that for long periods of time in this match the build-up play was slow and labored. United have fast and technically gifted attacking players, and they play best when they play fast.

Whoever the VAR official was in this match, he completely lost the plot with the offside call against Garnacho. Terrible. Awful. Total miss. Garnacho was onside. It seems the offside rule is written in pencil, as it changes week to week. Even under the new rule, this was an extremely harsh call that affected the outcome of the match. We went from having a potential 2-1 lead on 88 minutes to losing the match 3-1. Can’t believe we can’t figure out the offside rule in 2023.

The outcome remains the same of course, no matter how much the referee blew it. United’s struggles on the road against top sides continue. Only 6 points from the first four matches this season as well. Injuries are piling up. New signings Serge Reguilon and Sofyan Amrabat are waiting in the wings, and hopefully we can get some defenders healthy during the upcoming international break. I was impressed with Højlund today. He’s a bigger lad than I thought he was, and technically gifted for his size. He had a key role in the build-up to The Goal That Wasn’t for Garnacho.

The non-injured players will now join up with their national teams for the next two weeks. England have away matches against Ukraine and Scotland in the qualifiers for Euro 2024. England have a 100% record so far in qualifying, and they are more than capable of continuing that in the next two matches. ETH will be wise to use this time to evaluate his tactical plans and incorporate the new signings more into the team. United must improve away from Old Trafford to have any hope of maintaining pace with Arsenal and league leaders Manchester City.

As always, Glazers Out!

Euro Qualifier: England Earn a Massive Result in Italy

The Three Lions of England kicked off their qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 earlier today when they travelled to Naples, Italy for a match with the reigning European Champions at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. These two nations are easily the two best ones in Group C, so this match was a massive one as the winner would firmly be in the driver’s seat to win the group. England manager Gareth Southgate selected a similar team from England’s last match at World Cup 2022, which raised some eyebrows from the pundits. It could be argued that Italy and manager Roberto Mancini were under more pressure to get a good result today, given that they were at home and (rather hilariously) failed to qualify for last fall’s World Cup.

While Italy created the first two half-chances from set pieces in the opening minutes, it was England who were in the ascendancy for the majority of the first half. Midfielder Jude Bellingham tested Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from distance after an excellent run, but the big keeper was able to palm the shot over his crossbar. England won a corner a few minutes later though, and they found themselves ahead thanks to a scrambled finish from midfielder Declan Rice on 13 minutes. Winger/forward Bukayo Saka played a high and looping cross towards the back post, which was controlled well by striker Harry Kane. Kane got a shot away, but it was blocked by the Italian defense only for it to rebound straight to Rice. Rice took a touch to steady the ball, but then showed good instincts to knock it into the goal from about 6-7 yards out. Well done to England for converting a set piece, but Italy were at sixes and sevens. They had three men covering England center back Harry Maguire, and as a result their defenders were out of position when the rebound fell to Rice. Maguire is a big threat in the air, but it’s farcical to use three men to mark him when Kane is also in the box. Poor marking, but England were nevertheless up 1-0 and good value for their lead.

As noted, England had a ton of possession in the first half, and they could have had a second goal if not for a poor decision made by England midfielder Kalvin Phillips. Italy gave the ball away in a bad position straight to Phillips, but Phillips elected to shoot from distance. The shot was powerful but it went wide, and he probably should have opted to play in Kane on a run just ahead of him. If he played the ball in to Kane, Kane likely scores.

Kane did get the opportunity to write his name in the history books when England were awarded a penalty on 44 minutes. Another corner from Saka hit an Italian defender’s arm as it was played towards the back post. Initially the referee only gave a corner, but VAR was consulted and Serbian referee Srđan Jovanović pointed to the spot. After a slight delay, Kane stepped up and calmly put the ball into the right side of the goal. This goal was historic because it meant that Kane is now England’s all-time leading scorer, having surpassed former England forward Wayne Rooney. More on Kane below, but England were 2-0 up and looked to be in cruise control. They really should have had 3 just before halftime though, when Kane found winger Jack Grealish with a low cross. Grealish was only about 5 yards out and in acres of space to shoot with Donnarumma out of position, but he shanked the ball wide of the far post. He really should have scored! But if you told me England would be 2-0 up against the Italians in Italy at half time, I would have happily taken it.

The second half was much different though. I am not sure what Mancini said to his men in the locker room, but clearly it had great effect as the Italians were suddenly filled with energy. While England had been bossing the midfield and winning all the second balls in the first half, that very much switched to the Azzuri in the second. While England defended fairly well for the first 10 minutes or so of the second half, the Italians pulled them apart on 56 minutes to tally a response. Italy had the ball in the final third and it was at the feet of midfielder Nicolò Barella. Maguire stepped up to challenge Barella, but his tackle was poorly timed and Barella was able to get a pass to attacking midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini just outside the box. Striker (and debutante) Mateo Retegui had slipped himself in behind Maguire in space, and Pellegrini found him with a sublime reverse pass through the legs of Rice. Retegui took a touch to steady the ball and fired home with a splendid shot high into the opposite corner from 12 yards out. The whole goal was the result of Maguire being out of position and England losing the ball in midfield as well. Rice could have done better to intercept the pass as well, but credit to the Italians for taking advantage of England’s sloppy passage of play.

The final 30 minutes and stoppage time of this match were nervy ones for both sets of supporters in the stadium. The Italians continued their dominance, with England struggling to get out of their own half. Every time England cleared the ball up the pitch, it came right back at them. Southgate needed to change things, but he seemed content to leave his original 11 on while Mancini was rolling the dice with subs like he was at a craps table. Italian substitute winger Wilfried Gnoto was a particularly troublesome threat for England. His bouncing cross into the area on 77 minutes was inches away from meeting the head of a fellow attacker, and he was constantly making runs at England right back Kyle Walker.

Things really kicked off just moments after that though, when it appeared that an Italian defender handled the ball in his own box while under pressure from Kane. This time there wasn’t even a stoppage or a VAR review though, so Italy got the ball back up the pitch quickly. They were in a very promising position in their attacking third when England left back Luke Shaw delivered a challenge on Retegui. Jovanović stopped play to award a foul, and was immediately surrounded by both sets of players. Jovanović had been having trouble maintaining control of the match in the second half, with several questionable calls against England (and probably against Italy too). England were furious that VAR hadn’t stopped play to check the handball, while the Italians were screaming for Shaw to be booked and thus sent off. Shaw had been booked just minutes earlier for time wasting, but that was one of the aforementioned questionable decisions by Jovanović. After a what was almost 30 seconds of indecision, Jovanović did indeed show Shaw a second yellow and sent him off. England would have to play the final 10 minutes and stoppage time with ten men. Southgate sent on left back Kieran Trippier to replace show, replacing winger Phil Foden who had just come on about five minutes before that.

England defended the ensuing free kick well, and Southgate quickly sent on further defensive reinforcements with the introductions of right back Reece James and midfielder Conor Gallagher. It must be said that even though they were down to ten men, England somehow improved in the final moments of the match. They were getting blocks and tackles in, and Kane had started winning the ball high up the pitch again. They didn’t create any scoring chances, but they didn’t need to. They just needed to win throw-ins and fouls as often as possible, because each one would take precious time off the clock. After a less-than-expected five minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle went and England were victorious on Italian soil for the first time since 1961!

So while it was a game of two halves in which England nearly choked it away, the most important thing is that they held on to win. England under Southgate have a history of scoring first in big games, only to choke away a victory later on. They did that against these very same Italians in the summer of 2021 at Wembley when they lost in the Euros final. But that was vitally not what happened today. Despite going down to ten men after some chaotic and one-sided refereeing, they held their effing nerve and didn’t concede again! This team can score goals and they play some beautiful football at times, but they need to learn to be ruthless at the end of big matches. The players showed real grit and determination today, and that is refreshing in a big match such as this one. Interestingly, it could be argued that England should have had this match put away at halftime. If Grealish scores his big chance, it’s 3-0 to England the second half is very different. Credit to the players, and credit to Southgate for making the right subs.

Special commendations to one Mr. Harry Kane. As mentioned above, the 29 year-old Tottenham Hotspur striker became England’s all-time leading goal scorer with his spot-kick goal today! He now has 54 England goals to his name, and he is far from being done. While it’s true that his trophy cabinet is a little on the empty side, there is no questioning his dominance as a center forward. The statistics speak for themselves – Kane is the best pure goal-scorer to ever put on an England shirt. Not only does he have the record for most goals scored, he also has the record for most goals scored in competitive matches. He scores important goals. He came close to breaking the record last fall against France in that now-infamous quarterfinal, but he missed his penalty over the bar. Finessing it past Donnarumma today was a bit of redemption, though. A big penalty scored with relative ease in a very important match. He will look to extend his record over this qualifying campaign and help England qualify for Germany in 2024.

England will fly home after this match and prepare for their next qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. This was a fantastic start to the 2024 qualifying campaign, and Ukraine will provide another tough test. They are probably the 3rd-best team in Group C talent-wise, and the players will want to give their war-torn home nation something to be happy about. Shaw will be unavailable for selection due to a red card suspension, but that’s actually fine by me. Shaw has played for Manchester United a lot this season, and he needs some mandated rest.

Three Lions on the Shirts!

A Stoppage Time Winner Versus West Ham

Manchester United continued their Premier League campaign today at Old Trafford versus West Ham in the Premier League. United came into the match looking to continue the good form they showed against Brentford in midweek, but West Ham were sure to be a much tougher test. They came into this match in an impressive 4th place (given their relatively modest budget) and are helmed by former United manager David Moyes. He knows Manchester United very well in terms of the club’s philosophies and individual players’ strengths and weaknesses. United’s current manager Ralf Rangnick was looking for continued efforts from the players in terms of desire and physicality.

The first half was rather tepid from a neutral point of view. If you wanted to see a lot of goals, this was not the match for you. United really only had one clear-cut chance in the first half, and that was on 20 minutes when striker Cristiano Ronaldo just barely missed getting his head on a brilliant aerial cross from his Portuguese compatriot Bruno Fernandes. Although United did not look strong in attack, the defense was rock solid in that opening 45 minutes. West Ham were really struggling to create chances, as United were very good at winning the ball back if they ever lost it. The back 4 and the two holding midfielders were really cohesive and West Ham lost chances to score with every clearance from United.

The second half was much more entertaining, as both clubs seemed to take more risks going forward. Fred forced a fine save from West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola just 3 minutes after the kick off, and West Ham saw a shot from midfielder Jarrod Bowen go just wide of keeper David De Gea’s post just 5 minutes later. French center back Raphael Varane then came close to a goal with a header from a United corner, but his effort went over the bar. West Ham did not mark him correctly, and I think he knew that he should have scored from that position. The chances then petered out for about 20 minutes, before West Ham came close from a corner on 87 minutes. The whipped-in cross got a slight touch off the head of midfielder Tomáš Souček, but he couldn’t generate enough contact on the ball and it ended up going wide. Much like Varane’s chance though, he probably should have scored. Ronaldo then had a shot called back for offside, after which West Ham midfielder Declan Rice forced an awkward save from De Gea from a tight angle at his near post.

But then the moment came; the moment feared by all away fans when they come to Old Trafford: Fergie time. The last final few seconds before a close match ends when United can sometimes find a winner, named for our legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Alex Telles played the ball forward from his left back position, and after the ball came off a West Ham player’s head it fell straight into the path of Ronaldo. Ronaldo took a touch or two before playing in substitute striker Anthony Martial, who then made a very intelligent layoff pass to (another substitute) striker Edinson Cavani just off his left shoulder. Cavani spotted striker (and yet another substitute) Marcus Rashford streaking towards the far post, so Cavani played it to him with a crisp pass. Rashford poked it home from 3 yards out with his marker beaten, and Old Trafford erupted in celebration. A quick and decisive goal that would make both Rangnick and Ferguson very pleased to see. VAR checked to see if Cavani was offside, but when the goal was upheld Old Trafford roared again in celebration. There was no time for West Ham to respond, and United won 1-0. You have to see it to believe it!

Make no mistake, this was the best 90 minutes of football that United have played during Rangnick’s tenure as manager. He deserves all the credit in the world for his second half substitutes, as all three of them combined to score the goal. I raised my eyebrows when Martial was brought on, as he has been out of form for several months now and is believed to be close to leaving the club sometime this month. I didn’t think he would contribute much. But he, along with Cavani and Rashford, were much-needed sparks in the United attack. The most important aspect of this match though was the desire, belief, determination, and physicality on display from the Red Devils. In this sport, you always have to fight until the very end. When it’s close like it was today, things can turn in your favor (or against you) in a matter of seconds. That’s exactly what happened today. Truthfully I would have been mostly happy with a 0-0 given how the match went, but a Fergie time winner is always something to be celebrated. West Ham are tough opposition and not even the elite clubs can win every match 3-0. Sometimes you have to grind out a win, and that’s exactly what United did today.

A few final thoughts – United’s set piece and corner routines continue to be atrocious. Whatever we are doing in training when it comes to scoring from set pieces, it’s not working. In matches such as this one it’s risky to rely on a Fergie time winner, and scoring from a corner would normally be the most reliable way of getting a goal. That must improve. A big shoutout to Rashford though, who has now scored in successive matches and has scored more stoppage-time winners than anyone else in Prem history (4). Also, I want us to sign Rice as our defensive midfielder. He is truly excellent at breaking up play and United is still in desperate need of a true DM. I also like him because he’s one of England’s best players, and Manchester United needs to be a home for English talent. Time to open up the checkbook, Glazers!

United are on break for the next two weeks or so, but they resume play against Championship side Middlesbrough in the 4th Round of the FA Cup on February 4th. I am hopeful that this match serves as a confidence booster to the lads and that this form continues. United are currently 4th now after this win, but Tottenham and Arsenal still have games in hand behind us. No matter, all we can do is focus on winning and building positive momentum.

Glory Glory Man United!

England Demolish Albania, Move to Within Touching Distance of the World Cup

The international break is on for the clubs across Europe, which means that not only are England back in action, I get to take a break from writing about the very negative atmosphere in the red portion of Manchester right now.

England played their last home match of their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign yesterday afternoon at Wembley, taking on Albania. Albania came into this match 3rd in Group I, while England were sitting firmly atop. Albania needed three points to keep any hope of making the playoff alive, while England knew that a win could potentially qualify them. That would only happen if Poland lost to Andorra though, which was a very unlikely thing to happen.

In contrast to previous matches where England got off to a slow and/or laboring start, England were at full throttle almost from the get-go. It’s very difficult to get all 11 players up and going right away usually, so to see such a fast start was welcome. England, in a resplendent blue kit, were positively flying around and passing the ball extremely well, and they were rewarded with the opening goal on just 9 minutes via a set-piece. England won a foul on the edge of the area and the free kick was taken by Chelsea right-back (today playing as a right-wingback) Reece James. He played a sublime diagonal ball over the top of the Albanian defense, where Manchester United center back (and captain) Harry Maguire met the ball with his head. He drove the ball back across the goal and into the net with Albanian keeper Thomas Strakosha beaten. He wheeled away in a celebration that perhaps indicated he was trying to silence the critics of his recent play at United. It’s true he’s had some shockers recently, but I think a goal for England is going to be good for his confidence. Maguire seems to be a confidence-driven player, and if he can start believing in himself a bit again it will be good for country and club.

It should be noted that England and Everton keeper Jordan Pickford was forced into a fine save just after the England opener, after Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker played a very poor back pass straight into the path of an Albanian striker. It ended up being a fairly tame effort on goal, but it could have easily been 1-1. However, it probably would not have mattered in the end given the eventual England onslaught.

It was only the beginning of a dream day for England and a nightmare for Albania. About 9 minutes later, England got their second via a wonderfully-worked goal down the right hand flank. James and Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson played a lovely 1-2 around the Albanian defenders, with Henderson finding himself on the ball on the right side of the box near the end line. He spotted talismanic Tottenham striker Harry Kane in the middle largely unmarked, and played a delightful chipped cross to him. Kane rose highest to the ball and nodded it deftly past Strakosha for 2-0. A good goal, but Albania were completely lost defensively. The marking was so bad that England and Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell would have also easily finished the cross had Kane not been in front of him. But a world-class striker like Kane does not miss from point-blank range. You expect a player like Kane to get into that position. Credit again though to James and Henderson for some very good build-up play.

The Three Lions smelled blood at that point and continued to pour on the pressure. It was Henderson’s turn to get on the score sheet, remarkably for only the second time in his England career. James was involved in the buildup again, with him winning a second ball from a poor Albanian defensive header in a dangerous area. He then played a short pass to Manchester City winger/forward Phil Foden, who then found Henderson about 20 yards from the box. Henderson played a sharp pass into Kane, and Kane controlled the ball beautifully. He played the ball with his heel back into the path of the onrushing Henderson, who took a very deft touch around an Albanian defender before pinging his shot into the bottom far corner of the goal. Henderson is normally a defensive midfielder, but England were dominating so well through the middle he was able to come forward and get involved with two goals. The floodgates were beginning to well and truly open and the only question was how many more England would get.

Then it was Kane time. He decided he wanted to score some more instead of providing assists. Albania gave the ball away very cheaply in midfield, and Manchester City winger/forward Raheem Sterling was allowed to run a good distance towards the goal. Kane was in front of him just off to his left. Sterling played an excellent through ball to Kane, who was being played onside by a defender fairly far away from him. He took a few touches into the left side of the box, before lashing a screamer into the far side-netting. Strakosha could do nothing about it. At 4-0 it was now over, just 33 minutes into the match.

Just for good measure, Kane secured England’s fifth and a first half hat-trick for himself a minute into stoppage time. England won a corner that was played into the box by Foden, and once again Kane was there to finish in spectacular fashion. He hit the ball on the volley with a scissor-kick, and Strakosha had no chance of keeping out a shot with such velocity on it. He saved his best finish on the day for last – falling away from the ball but still getting excellent contact with his right boot. Yes the marking was again by poor by Albania, but you can’t take anything away from Kane’s finish. It was 5-0 at halftime and if Albaia manager Edoardo Reja could have thrown in the proverbial towel, he would have.

The second half was dull in comparison, with England somewhat understandably in cruise control and not really trying all that hard to go and get another one. Albania had one or two shots on Pickford’s goal from long distance, but he was never really troubled. No more goals were scored, probably due to the substitutions, injuries, and fouls that created a very stuttered flow to the match. One notable moment was the debut of Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, a very promising young talent that has had a great season so far for the Gunners in the middle of the park. Again, nothing much of note happened for him, but it’s always good for a young player to get time in a competitive match.

Speaking of, Kane is now England’s all time leading goal scorer in competitive football matches, overtaking Wayne Rooney. He still has not eclipsed Rooney’s overall goal scoring record for England (53), but it is almost inevitable now that he will. With his hat-trick today he is now tied with the legendary Jimmy Greaves on 44 goals. He only needs 9 to tie Rooney and 10 to overtake him, and that could happen at next winter’s World Cup in 2022. England have never had a dominant center forward such as Kane, and we have never had a man score so many important goals for us.

Southgate of course will be happy with this display, and he will be even happier that it happened without the services of players such as Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho. It’s again a testament to England’s strength in depth that we can put 5 goals past half-decent opposition without several extremely good players. I suppose as long as Kane is out there, that’s all we really need. When he is in the mood, I don’t think he can be stopped. Southgate promised that England would put on a show in his pre-match interviews, and his team very much delivered on that. A 6th goal in the second half would have been a nice ribbon on the gift, but not getting one is hardly grounds for complaint.

As expected, Poland did end up beating Andorra 4-1. That means England have a 3 point lead over Poland with one match left in qualifying, and therefore they only need a draw against bottom-dwellers San Marino to secure passage to World Cup 2022 as the winners of Group I. That match will happen on Monday at the Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle in San Marino. All I will say is that if we can put 5 past Albania, we should be putting 10 past San Marino. They are the lowest ranked country in FIFA’s world rankings, at 210th out of 210. They have a goal differential of -35 and have not registered a single point in 9 qualifying matches. To say that they are underdogs would be the understatement of the year. All England need is a point against the minnowest of minnows, but it would be embarrassing even to win by a small margin. Barring the miracle of all miracles, England should qualify for World Cup 2022 on Monday.

Three Lions on the shirts!

England Display a Dominant Second Half Performance In Victory Over Hungary

Today, England travelled to the elegant Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary to play their first match since the loss against Italy in the final of the European Championships. The Three Lions came into the match top of the World Cup qualifying group having won all three of their matches so far, but Hungary were a mere two points behind them in Group I.

Although a victory for England was expected, Hungary are not a team of pushovers like they have been in the past. They are well-organized and tactically sound defensively, and that can create problems for any opposition. This same Hungary team pushed France and Germany to their limits at Euro 2020(1), and they were buoyed by the addition of their most naturally talented player – attacking midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai. Don’t ask me to pronounce his name, as the trickiness of the pronunciation is mirrored by the trickiness of his feet. England would need to make sure he is marked at all times because he has the dribbling and shooting technique to trouble even the best defenses.

England took the pitch in front of a packed house in Hungary, and the atmosphere pre-kick off was mostly upbeat. England were on the ball for most of the first half though, and were clearly the better side in terms of possession, passes, and chances created. The problem was struggling to get clear shots on goal. The Hungarians deployed a 5-3-2 formation that made them incredibly difficult to break down. The other side of that though is that they had no presence in midfield and couldn’t get the ball into Szoboszlai or any of their attacking players. I don’t think England keeper Jordan Pickford even touched the ball in the first half, aside from goal kick clearances. A very stale encounter in that first half plus a very hostile atmosphere had me thinking that England may need to be satisfied with a draw today.

But England upped the tempo a little bit in the second half and Hungary struggled to keep up. Harry Kane just missed a gilt-edged chance on 50 minutes after being through on goal. It was a good save from keeper Péter Gulácsi but you feel that given Kane’s quality he should have scored. But no worries though, as Hungary were undone just 5 minutes later. West Ham midfielder Declan Rice did well to win the ball in midfield, and he played a quick pass out to Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish on the left wing. Grealish brought the ball to edge of the area, after he which he played in fellow midfielder Mason Mount on an overlapping run towards the end line. Mount used his quickness to get to the ball and drag a cross back along the ground, directly into the path of the unmarked Raheem Sterling. Sterling had to be quick, but it was a relatively simple finish into the bottom corner with Gulácsi unable to get to it. Good team goal from England and it was 1-0. The celebrations for Sterling were marred by some poor behavior from Hungary fans in the stands, who decided it would be a good idea to throw full bottles and cups at Sterling from the stands. More on Hungary’s fans below.

The second goal came via the talismanic Kane about 8 minutes later. Sterling found himself under a bouncing ball on the right wing, and he hit it first time low and along the ground towards Kane in the middle of the box. The ball took a bounce off the foot of a Hungarian defender, which caused the ball to pop up in the air a bit. Kane was able to get his head to it with enough power to put it through the arms of Gulácsi for 2-0. Always good to see Kane on the score sheet and he atoned for his earlier miss with that header. Now that all 3 points were in the bag, you could see England relaxing a little and just seeing the game out.

That didn’t happen though, as center back and Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was next in the queue to score England’s third just 6 minutes later. The floodgates had well and truly opened, as Kane was unlucky not to get his second just before Maguire’s goal. Fellow Red Devil Luke Shaw delivered in a peach of a cross from a corner, and Maguire did well to position himself under it. He headed the ball down and towards the opposite corner, but it didn’t appear to have a ton of pace behind it. Gulácsi couldn’t get down in time to save it though, and it rolled in after taking a deflection off his arm. Good teams can score in a variety of ways, and England showed they are capable of that by finally executing a set piece. Our defenders are so big that we should be scoring more often from those.

The fourth and final nail in the coffin came on 87 minutes, and this time it was Rice both finishing the chance and somewhat creating it. Kane had just missed another chance to score, and Pickford had actually made his first real – if routine – save of the game just after that. But Grealish was involved once again as well, and this time he got an assist. Rice played the ball to Grealish on the right side of the box. Grealish then cut in from the right side using his dribbling and looked to be trying to create space for a shot. He was blocked off though by defenders so he wisely played a backwards diagonal pass back to Rice, who was positioned for a shot on the edge of the box. He passed the ball with the inside of his foot towards the goal, and it was straight at Gulácsi. He really should have done better with the save, as he seemed to drop it and the ball went under him before it went over the line. Still, poor keeping or not, you have to have the temerity to take on that strike and Rice should be credited for going for goal.

So yes, 4-0 away in a hostile atmosphere in a competitive match is about all you can ask for. England were patient in the first half, and that patience was rewarded with dominance in the second. Hungary may feel that poor keeping did them in today, but England’s first goal had nothing to do with Gulácsi. Once the first one went in, you felt the result was never in doubt. Hungary were just lacking the quality going forward today. It’s an over-simplification to blame the keeper in this case, despite his notable errors.

The behavior of too many of the fans in Budapest was very disappointing, not only due to the bottle-throwing after Sterling’s goal but they also booed when England players took the knee before kickoff to protest racism in football. Hungary’s players were very professional in this match and credit to them for showing their fans that is possible to lose with dignity and grace. But that fanbase has a reputation for poor sportsmanship and FIFA must take action to regulate this sort of thing if they are serious about stamping out hooliganism and fan violence in this sport. UEFA has already sanctioned the Hungarian Football Association and had this been a Euro qualifier the match would have been played in an empty stadium. But it seems that FIFA and UEFA don’t carry the same punishments for whatever reason. I am sick of this pigheaded behavior from supporters and it needs to stop. England fans are no exception to that, either. There are too many England fans who behave this way too, they just weren’t on TV today. It is always difficult for me to call out this behavior from other countries when England’s house isn’t fully in order.

But in terms of the match, this was a very good performance from the lads and exactly what England needed to exorcise a few of the demons lingering after the loss to Italy back in July. Coming out against decent opposition, away from home, and putting 4 past them in a span of 32 minutes is just what the doctor ordered. England were already in the driver’s seat in this group, but now World Cup qualification seems much closer despite the fact that there’s only been four of ten games played in this campaign. Hungary are probably the second-best team in the group (aside from maybe Poland) so England can take confidence from the way they handled themselves today. Composed and clinical after a potentially-frustrating first half. Man of the Match for me is Declan Rice, but a case could be made for Sterling, Grealish, or Kalvin Phillips.

England take on minnows Andorra at Wembley on Sunday. An emphatic win is expected against such a small nation. England are now 5 points clear on top of Group I.

Three Lions On the Shirts!

Euro 2020(1) Final – It’s Not Coming Home (This Time)

I apologize for the tardiness of this blog but it’s been a very emotional 24-48 hours since the final penalty was taken in the match. The loss of course is one thing, but then there was the resulting fallout from it as well. I think it’s probably best to discuss the match itself first and then go over the shitstorm that happened afterwards.

The atmosphere at Wembley on Sunday pre-match was electric, and it must be said that the overall vibe was a positive one. There had been some skirmishes with some idiot England fans trying to get into Wembley without tickets, but again those were minor when compared with the overwhelming majority of fans who were there to have a good time. Choruses of “Sweet Caroline” rung out around the ground in the lead up to kick off, as England fans celebrated their first men’s final in 55 years.

And things went from a reserved frenzy to a raucous celebration just 2 minutes into the match when left wingback Luke Shaw was found in the box by a cross from fellow wingback Kieran Trippier the right hand side. He hit it towards the Italian goal and keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma could not get to it as it crept in just inside the left-hand post. It was clear from the outset that Italy’s initial tactical set up was all wrong. They had come out in their usual 4-3-3, while England manager Gareth Southgate had changed his formation again and set up England in a 3-4-3. Shaw and Trippier were overwhelming them in the space on the wings, and the Italians could not figure out how to mark them with a back 4. Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips were also dictating the possession and tempo in the middle of the park, and for the entire rest of the first half Italy looked rather toothless. Italy forward Federico Chiesa put a shot just wide of Jordan Pickford’s goal after a long run with the ball, but that was Italy’s best chance. The one negative from the first half is that England did not score a second goal, but the way the match was going you figured there would be an opportunity for another one.

But Italy manager Roberto Mancini is no stranger to adversity, and he made some key changes that really swung things back in Italy’s favor. He took off ineffective striker Ciro Immobile and brought on attacking midfielder Federico Bernadeschi, which immediately gave the Italians more fluidity in attack. Along with the urgency of knowing they needed a goal and fresher legs in midfield, Italy really pressed England for about a 10-15 minute spell in the early second half. They were unfortunately rewarded for their efforts after they won a corner, which was tapped in to the back of the England net by center back Leonardo Bonucci after a mad scramble in the box. England failed to clear the ball and Bonucci was in the right place at the right time to make England pay. Sometimes, that’s all you need.

Italy continued their dominant spell for another 10 minutes or so but could not find a second goal. England had a little more possession in the final 10-15 minutes, but solid Italian defending and closing down in midfield prevented England from mounting a serious attack. Southgate had indeed brought on help in the forms of Jordan Henderson, Jack Grealish, and Bukayo Saka, but I felt that those subs were too little and too late (more on that below). In the end no more goals were scored and extra time would be needed.

Extra time in a major final is nothing new of course, but I was worried about our fatigue levels given the lack of substitutions. I thought that Mancini had done a better job of getting his tired players off the field, even if one or two of them were necessary changes due to injury. I was more than relieved to see Chiesa go off injured late in the second half. I don’t wish injury on any player, but he had been tormenting England all match and was Italy’s best attacking player on the day.

Italy dominated the first 15 minutes of extra time, but England fought back a little in the second 15 minutes with some better possession and movement around the box. Center back John Stones barely missed getting his head on a cross from Shaw, but there were no serious attempts on the goal. There was a moment where I thought defender Giorgio Chiellini would be sent off for a foul on Saka, but the referee only showed a yellow. I felt it probably should have been a red given the egregious manner in which Chiellini grabbed Saka’s shirt color and yanked it back, but I am not sure how much of a difference it would have made that late on in the match anyway. The referee definitely let a lot of contact go in this match and generally tried to let both teams play. That is fine when it helps your team and it’s what the neutrals would be happy to see, but it’s maddening when it cuts against your team.

Forwards Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were indeed subbed on, but only with about two minutes to go in extra time. I was happy to see those two come on, but it was far too late for them to get involved in the match. Penalties loomed and a nation held it’s breath. Once penalties were confirmed, I was trying to be optimistic. This group of players beat Colombia in a World Cup elimination game on penalties in 2018, so they knew how to win one this way. Higher stakes this time of course and England do have a long history of penalty failures before that, but there was reason for a degree of optimism going into the pens.

I won’t go through it kick by kick because most people saw what happened and it’s too painful to type out anyway, but Italy won 3-2 after a save from Donnarumma on Saka with the fifth and final penalty. Rashford and Sancho missed penalties as well, with Harrys Kane and Maguire converting theirs. Pickford produced two fine saves to keep England in it, but Saka’s penalty was too low and lacked power. Donarumma was the hero on the day, and Italy were crowned European Champions. I turned the stream off and walked away for a bit. I was absolutely crushed, and you could tell Saka, Rashford, and Sancho all felt horribly too. I think it is fair to say that having a 19 year old take the fifth penalty, which is often a decisive one, was an error in judgment from Southgate.

But that was not his biggest error on the day. Saka and Sancho hitting a weak penalties and Rashford missing altogether were also not the main reasons for the loss. Penalties are a crap shoot and anything can happen when the match gets to that point. The principle reasons for the loss were not killing off Italy when we had them on the ropes in the first half, and then failing to respond quickly enough to their tactical changes in the second half. Mancini did not play a perfect match tactically, but his adaptability and willingness to take risks was what won his side their first European title since 1968. He saw that what he set out with wasn’t working, so he took a gamble or two and it paid off. Of course, it does become easier to gamble when you have the defense that Italy has. The center back pairing of Bonucci and Chiellini is world class, simple as. They were excellent at keeping Kane and Raheem Sterling at bay for all 120 minutes. Those two have been England’s best attacking players all tournament, but they were largely anonymous for most of the match.

If England are to win a trophy with this current crop of players, Southgate must be willing to be more adventurous when the time is right. Yes, the conservative approach got us through the first six games, but in a final sometimes you have to take risks and go for the goal. I do not trust England on penalties and we should never try to play for penalties. We were not explicitly doing that in the final, but Southgate was unwilling to change things despite conceding a goal that looked like it was coming for at least 7 or 8 minutes. Sancho and Rashford should have been brought on in normal time, not 2 minutes before penalties. Grealish should have been brought on before the 70th minute. There should have been some kind of tactical plan for more outlet passes from the back to relieve the pressure the Italians were pouring on the back line in the lead up to their goal. The goal may have still come anyway, but England would have been much more suited to getting a second one if he had been less rigid in his approach.

So yes, to lose a major final at home like that is heartbreaking. It’s not an enjoyable experience in any way. But what was even more heartbreaking was the response to it from fans, the media, and even the British government.

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Within minutes of England being eliminated, hate speech and vile racist attacks came pouring in from supposed England “supporters” on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I won’t repeat what was said but suffice it to say that it was just some of the nastiest things one could say to another person. Rashford, Sancho, and Saka got most of the attacks and many (false) correlations were made between the race of those players and their ability to take penalties. There was even an Australian newspaper that ran a later-retracted headline about England’s Black players missing while the white players scored. A mural of Rashford in south Manchester was also defaced with racist language and symbols.

It’s fucking disgusting. That’s all there is to it. You would have thought that by the year 2021 we would be done with the farcical concept of racism, but the reality is that it has only gotten worse in recent years. It definitely seems to be worse at the least, due to the fact that every idiot with a pair of thumbs can express his/her asinine opinion and share it with the world instantaneously. Social media platforms claim they are trying to fight back against hate speech online, but that’s a hydra that is difficult to slay. As soon as you shut down one idiot, two more pop up elsewhere. It should be no wonder why England players took a knee before the kickoff of every match at this tournament to protest against racism. It is clearly still needed.

England fans already had a reputation before this tournament as being rowdy and block-headed, and we’ve done ourselves no favors with all this idiocy. Immediately after the wave of racist nonsense came in, another of wave of hatred pervaded the internet in response. This time though it was a different set of people calling out the racism of our supporters and generally lampooning England as a nation. It was hard to see that as an anti-racist England supporter, but a lot of it was justified. This country does have a problem with racism and it must be addressed. If it takes national embarrassment to get that done, then so be it.

I am no sociologist and I do not know how to fix the problem entirely, but one thing that would help immensely is if UK politicians like Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel stopped stoking the fires of discrimination among their constituents. Politicians like those two were elected on nationalist/exclusionist principles, and in the past they frequently targeted dark-skinned immigrants as being the source of many of the UK’s problems when pushing for Brexit. Both Johnson and Patel were quick to condemn the racism from social media, but that was a very hypocritical position to take when it’s primarily those two and their party responsible for a good portion of the racism in the first place. England center back Tyrone Mings was correct to point that out, and his tweet response to Patel went viral almost instantly. You cannot claim to be against racism when you’ve spent the last several years subversively promoting it!

But in the darkest hour for England, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Kane, a white man and England’s captain, posted a condemnation of racism on his social media that provided me a sense of relief in it’s strongly-worded tone. Kane is normally somewhat tepid and lukewarm on issues that don’t directly involve football, but the message of “we don’t want you” re: racist supporters was unequivocal and it was the exact message needed. I echo his words now: if you are racist, you are not an England supporter and we don’t want you.

I was further emboldened by the response of Rashford and the support for him on social media. As toxic as some people were, the real England fans showed up to support the lad when he was being attacked. Rashford admitted his penalty wasn’t good enough, but he refused to apologize for being a Black man and of course he shouldn’t have to. Rashford is 1000x the man any of the racists are. He’s spent the past 1-2 years feeding schoolchildren and funding literacy programs. He even went toe-to-toe with PM Johnson himself when it came to school meals during the pandemic. He has donated roughly £20m to charities in the past year, which is more than his entire net worth. He was recognized for his services by the Crown as well, who awarded him an MBE. Rashford is the shining example, but many England players have made great contributions to the communities they grew up in.

The support for the statements of Rashford and Kane was overwhelmingly positive. For every idiot racist sounding off, there was 10 more people in full support of everything these lads have done and are doing for this country. It was absolutely vital that they got some support from English people, as that has not always been the case in the past, even for extremely popular (white) players like David Beckham and Wayne Rooney. Becks was hung in effigy outside pubs in London after his red card against Argentina in 1998, and Rooney was the target of threats and personal attacks after his own red card against Portugal in 2006. Yes England lost in disappointing fashion, but the cycle of attacking our players when they don’t perform for England seems to be breaking. We need to be encouraging these players and helping them remain positive. Having them terrified of playing for England will not result in success. Toxicity only breeds more toxicity.

This team’s run to the final captivated and united the nation, for the most part. We played well for long stretches in the final as well, and for 60+ minutes we were European Champions. I could not be more proud of them and the manager, and that sentiment is shared by many. In many ways, this whole incident showed both the very best and very worst of social media. You had the vile racism at first, but the swift condemnation in response to all of it was nothing short of positive. Even the normally-alarmist British tabloids were mostly supportive of the lads post-match.

The damage to Rashford’s mural was covered with messages of support written on bits of paper and England flags, and earlier today the street artist who initially did the mural was out there repairing it.

If we want England to have any degree of success over the next 10-15 years, we have to continue showing support like this. If the players are able to put their club tribalism aside and play for one another, then so can the average fan. This tournament and the subsequent fallout I think created a strong bond among these England players; a brotherhood of sorts. They know they’re good and they know they can do well at tournaments, and if they can get through this level of fallout they can get through anything. All we need to do as England fans is keep supporting them and they will eventually bring us another trophy. Getting to the final was a huge step in the right direction and I think there will only be more growth as the team grows and matures. Many of our players this tournament were still very young, including Rashford, Sancho, Saka, and Jude Bellingham. They are only going to get better. If they know England fans are going to be behind them even if they lose a close match, that will only make success more likely.

This England team under Southgate might be the one to bring us success on the pitch, which is why I titled this post as “It’s Not Coming Home (This Time)”. We will have more chances to win with this group, as we have shown that we can play with anybody. Reaching the semis in 2018 and a final in 2020(1) is already the best I have seen England do in my lifetime. At this tournament we beat the Germans, scored four in a knockout match, and went to our first major final in 55 years. More importantly, their efforts off the pitch may end up being a catalyst for real societal change in the UK as well. Mark my words – these players will make history one way or another.

Lastly, I’d like to thank everyone who read these blog posts during the Euros. My readers are of the utmost importance to me and I hope it was informative and entertaining for you all. It truly was a great tournament marred only by the actions of a small amount of knuckle-draggers.

I shall now be taking a few weeks off from the blog as there is a lull in competitive football matches in late July/early August. United’s pre-season gets underway soon, but I’ll do a full season preview for that once the Premier League is closer to returning.

Three Lions on the Shirts!

Euro 2020(1) – Quarterfinals Day 2 – Danish Delight and England Dominance!

The second matchday of quarterfinals saw Denmark take on Czech Republic in Baku, Azerbaijan while England were drawn against Ukraine in Rome, Italy in the night fixture.

Once again, this post is primarily going to be about England. I will not apologize.

Denmark vs. Czech Republic

I won’t dwell on this too much but I must note that I hated the location this match was played in. Azerbaijan isn’t even in Europe geographically but because the country paid UEFA a lot of money and has loose COVID restrictions, they got to host a European Championships quarterfinal. Never mind the extra travel for the teams, a poor atmosphere for fans, or the warmer temperatures; there’s money to be made! Greedy bastards.

As for the match itself, Denmark controlled the first half by a considerable margin and are still clearly playing like a team possessed. They have some talent in their side but what’s really pushing them through is the desire to play well for Christian Eriksen, their still-sidelined teammate that gave the world quite a scare when he collapsed on the pitch in the opening match.

Denmark scored from a corner in the opening 5 minutes when defensive midfielder Thomas Delaney found himself unmarked and headed past Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik from about 14 yards out. The header was a low bouncer with power on it that look easy to stop for a keeper but I can assure you they are probably among the hardest shots to stop. The rest of the half was the Czechs trying to keep possession and the Danes hitting them on the counter attack. They looked dangerous every time the ball broke their way, and the Danes also did well to win it high up the pitch and create chances that way. The Danes second was a real work of art, primarily the final pass from left back Joakim Mæhle. He hit an absolutely delicious cross with the outside of his right foot into the box, which was inch-perfect for striker Kasper Dolberg to redirect into the back of the net with his shin. Good technique on the finish from Dolberg to be sure, but the pass from Mæhle might be the assist of the tournament. It is so hard to cross the ball accurately while running, and even harder to do it with the outside of your foot. It was truly sublime and the Danes were in cruise control going into the break.

The Czechs tapped the brakes on the Danes though and firmly took them out of cruise control when Patrik Schick added to his impressive tally this tournament when he redirected a cross past Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel. It was early in the half and it was precisely what the Czechs needed to get back into the match. But all that fluidity and endeavor shown by the Czechs evaporated after the goal. The Danes collected themselves a bit and started possessing the ball more, and for the remaining 40 minutes or so both sides really only fashioned a few half-chances at most. Stoic defending from the Danes, and a lack of creativity from the Czechs. Perhaps fatigue was a factor in the heat of Baku.

Denmark won 2-1 and advanced to their first Euro semifinal since 1992. Truly a remarkable achievement and they deserve all the cred it for it. They await the winner of England/Ukraine.

England vs. Ukraine

Much like the aforementioned Danes, Czechs, and the Swiss yesterday, Ukraine are a team that plays better than the sum of their parts. They only have 2-3 standout players, but they have a strong sense of unity and they seem to really enjoy playing spoiler against bigger teams. I do think the Ukrainians have the ability to score via players like winger Oleksandr Zinchenko and midfielder Andriy Yarmolenko, so they will need to be contained by the English defense. I think there are questions about the Ukrainian defense though, and I want to see England use our forwards to run at them and create openings at the back. I think Raheem Sterling will once again heavily feature, as it was his dribbling that led to a goal against Germany. I’d like to see him on the right wing though, instead of on the left, though. Seems more effective from the right.

England interestingly reverted to a 4-2-3-1, a big change from the 3-4-3 they used to beat Germany. Jadon Sancho finally got the start England fans have been clamoring for, but Jack Grealish was curiously absent from the starting lineup. Its clear that manager Gareth Southgate likes to use him as an impact substitute. There was also a start in midfield for Mason Mount, who also started the first match against Croatia but hasn’t featured since due to a positive COVID test. The lineup was still somewhat conservative, but so far that approach has worked for England, even if it isn’t the most entertaining. I (and many others) want to criticize the approach from Southgate more, but he’s bought himself some room to operate in with the win over Germany. Our bench is much deeper than Ukraine’s anyway, so I expected some key substitutions to be made if things weren’t going our way. Sterling started on the left wing again, so Southgate didn’t listen to me on that one.

But he should not listen to me at all, because England came out and scored in the 4th minute after a delightful pass from Sterling (who was on the left, lol) found a run from Kane into the penalty box. He beat Ukrainian keeper Heorhiy Bushchan to the loose ball and toe-poked it up and over his outstretched leg. Great pass, great run, great finish. Sometimes it really is that simple. It was a nightmare start for Ukraine but an absolute dream for Kane and England.

England created a few more good chances in the first half, notably from Declan Rice and Harry Maguire, but failed to score them. Ukraine grew into the game a little bit and had a good spell of possession later on, but failed to create a real grade-A chance. There were just one or two poor giveaways in midfield by England and keeper Jordan Pickford was required to make a decent save at his near post from Ukrainian striker Roman Yaremchuk. It was a save he should make every time, but it was still moderately concerning that he had to make such a save.

England went into halftime 1-0 up though, despite cooling off a little after the red hot start. I was generally pleased, but I wanted a second goal fairly early on to really kill off the match. Ukraine were starting to believe in themselves a little as the half wore on and I wanted that optimism smothered as soon as possible. I got exactly what I wanted 2 minutes in when Kane won a free kick in the left channel for England. Manchester United’s Luke Shaw stepped up to take the free kick, and he found the massive head of club teammate Maguire at the far post. Maguire headed the pass back across the keeper and into the opposite corner for 2-0. A goal crafted on the Carrington training ground in Manchester! An absolutely thumping header too!

England were probably home and dry after that, but they didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal at all. If anything, they pressed down harder. A scant four minutes later, Mount brought the ball forward from midfield and played it to Sterling. Sterling was closed off by defenders but that created space for Shaw, who was on an overlapping run behind him. Sterling backheeled it to Shaw who knocked in another lovely cross with a first time hit, and he hit Kane straight in the forehead with it. Kane nodded the ball down and through the legs of Bushchan for 3-0. It was a close range finish for Kane but he still did very well to get the ball down with enough power to get it through the keeper’s legs. I had to pinch myself at 3-0 because it didn’t feel real.

Kane went close to a third goal and a fourth for England just after the hour mark with a very sweet hit on the volley, but he had to settle for a fine save from Bushchan. The angle and distance of the shot truly would have been a spectacular goal, but again the keeper was equal to it. The resulting corner was the source of England’s 4th goal, though. Mount took the corner as four English players flashed down towards the goal, and the first man to it was defensive midfielder and substitute Jordan Henderson. He got clean contact on it after losing his man and it was a simple redirection of the pass into the far corner after that. Poor marking from a probably now-jaded Ukraine and the keeper had no chance. Well done to Henderson for getting his first ever England goal! The quarterfinal of a major tournament is a great time to get it.

4-0 after 63 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. Completely blown away by the performance and there was still almost half an hour left. The only thing to ensure now was the maintaining of the clean sheet. England have not conceded a goal at Euro 2020(1) yet and the professional thing to do would be to keep it that way. Pickford’s first truly challenging save of the match was in the 74th minute when the ball fell to Ukrainian defender Yevhenii Makarenko, who struck the ball with power towards the goal. Pickford got his hands up to parry it away, but it was an awkward save from fierce strike. One or two more half chances were created by both sides after that, but all the real action was done. Ukraine were spent physically and mentally towards the end and England didn’t really press in attack any further. A lot of substitutions were made late on in the second half as well by Southgate in order to protect the players on yellow cards from suspension. Kane was also taken off to a standing ovation from England fans in attendance at Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

As someone who has been watching England for over 20 years, I can tell you that England have not traditionally made it look this easy. This was dominance in a tournament I haven’t seem from this team since…ever? Sure, we usually beat minnow teams like Andorra or San Marino 4-0, 5-0, etc., but those are usually qualifiers or friendlies that aren’t nearly as important as games like this one. Put bluntly, ever since 1966 England have been choke artists. Choking in the big moments with a level of consistency that should not be physically possible. Always had loads of talent, almost always had a half-decent manager, but we could just never put it all together when it mattered most. That happened today though. England looked like a well-oiled machine for most of the match, and we ran the opposition ragged. It’s a very unfamiliar experience for England fans, but a nonetheless positive one.

It is true that Ukraine didn’t play well, and that they are not the most talented opposition England have faced so far, but they set up with a back 5 from the outset of the match and were clearly intent on defending well as a unit and then hitting on the counter. But England blew that plan to pieces with the early goal from Kane. Completely shattered them for the next 20 minutes after that. Then, just when they were starting to recover and grow into the game a a little, we destroyed them again with the early goal in the 2nd half from Maguire. It was over at 2-0, and England just poured it on from there. It was ruthless, and I loved it.

Respect to the Ukrainian players and manager/legend Andriy Shevchenko, but England were just better today through and through. Of course, this was only a quarterfinal and the tournament is not over. England now advance to only the third Euro semifinal in their history and the first one since 1996. Also of note is that this is now three semifinals in a row for England – World Cup 2018, Nations League 2019, and now Euro 2020(1). They will play Denmark at Wembley Stadium in London next Wednesday. I will do a separate preview of that massive fixture and the other semifinal between Spain and Italy beforehand.

Semifinals are set! One of these four remaining teams will win Euro 2020(1)! All remaining matches are at Wembley!

Italy vs. Spain (July 6, noon PDT)

England vs. Denmark (July 7, noon PDT)