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!
4-4-2 