The November international break saw England play their final two competitive matches before next summer’s Euro 2024 in Germany. They played host to minnows Malta at Wembley last Friday, after which they traveled to North Macedonia for the final qualifying match. England’s victory over Italy last October sealed their qualification for the tournament, but there was still the matter of winning the group so as to ensure they got a more favorable group stage draw next summer as a “seeded” team.
These matches were largely unremarkable. England beat Malta 2-0, thanks to a Maltese own goal followed up by yet another Harry Kane strike in the second half. North Macedonia was a trickier foe, with England managing a 1-1 draw against them earlier today in Skopje. Kane got the key touch on England’s equalizer today as well, but it was officially scored as a North Macedonian own-goal.
While these results were decidedly lackluster with England often looking devoid of creativity and invention, it’s important to remember the context in which these matches were played. For one, England had already qualified for Euro 2024 due to their excellent match last month and previous positive results. That meant that several key players (including star midfielder Jude Bellingham) pulled out from the squad to rest themselves during this long and grueling club season. For two, manager Gareth Southgate was attempting to experiment with tactics a bit and see what players on the fringes of selection would be worth bringing along to Germany next summer. Any time you experiment with lineups and tactics at the national level, there is bound to be some amount of disjointed play. Still, England won Group C by 6 points, which is an accomplishment of note given that Italy and Ukraine were in this group. Italy also qualified in 2nd place today, with Ukraine likely headed for a playoff after finishing 3rd.
Any time England plays, whether it be a friendly or the final of a major tournament, you can always expect a hyperbolic reaction from pundits and supporters. Only England fans can manage to find a way to be upset about a win or otherwise positive result in such spectacularly over-the-top fashion. Many England fans online and in the papers have taken these results as evidence of how the team will play next summer, which is rather asinine. Everyone needs to calm down and relax! These were effectively friendly matches, given their low-stakes. It’s very clear no one in an England shirt was taking them super seriously. I have every confidence that the lads will be able to turn on the juice again once things get hot in the kitchen next summer. The return of Bellingham and other regular first-team players will inject some life into the side as well. It’s true these matches weren’t inspiring or entertaining to watch, but England got the job done in the end. England have done all they need to do to set up a deep run in the tournament so far, and they did it with room to spare. I guarantee that things will look much different come tournament time.
As has been stated by me and many others many times though, qualification is usually not England’s issue. The Three Lions usually do qualify for all major tournaments. The measure of success for this current iteration of England under Southgate is success at the tournament itself. We’ve gotten very close to winning something several times going back to 2018, but they haven’t quite gotten themselves over the finish line. The form of Kane, Bellingham, winger/forward Bukayo Saka, and winger/forward Marcus Rashford will be vital to England’s chances. Kane and Bellingham are arguably the two best players in the world right now, so here’s to hoping they remain uninjured between now and next summer.
Southgate himself faces a big test next summer as well. This could be his last tournament as England manager, so he and all the players will want him to go out with a bang. There’s no better way to do that than by winning England’s first major trophy in what will be 58 years by then. There aren’t many concerns about whether or not England are talented enough to win. By all accounts, they very much are. The concern is the conservative play style usually employed by Southgate at major tournaments. England have at times looked unsure of what they’re doing going forward, opting instead to retain fairly harmless possession in the middle of the pitch. Southgate is also at times too unwilling to change things until its too late. Will he finally take the shackles off England’s talented attack? Will he opt to remain with playing conservative? A mix of the two? It’s unclear. We can only hope he has learned from his mistakes in the past and tries something new when the tactics are not going according to plan. He’s not a bad manager by any stretch of the imagination. Indeed, he is England’s most successful manager since 1966. But is he the right man for this England team at this time? We will find out next summer.
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