Euro 2024, day 12
Are we having fun yet?
“I told myself… this isn’t normal. This isn’t normal. This isn’t how life is supposed to feel.”
— I Saw the TV Glow
That was not the most inspiring football I’ve ever seen in my life. The only solace I can take is that it wasn’t the only football played at the Euros on Tuesday. May as well get into it. We’ll start with the teams that actually tried to play some stuff. This newsletter is completely free, thanks to being sponsored by Immaculate Footy England!
France 1-1 Poland
It wasn’t perfect, but I think France were actually pretty good here.
I think France are much more reliant on Kylian Mbappé today than they were at the 2022 World Cup. For whatever reason, Ousmane Dembélé just hasn’t looked close to his best in Germany. I know he’s always been a little inconsistent, but after he was so dangerous in Qatar, this has to be a disappointment. As much as I like N’Golo Kanté, a midfield of him, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot just isn’t doing it for me. And Olivier Giroud is no longer the perfect target man foil, able to bring others into play at will. If they can’t play it down the right, or through the midfield, or go long, then everything has to go through Mbappé drifting out to the left. It’s a lot more predictable.
Mbappé is the best player at this tournament, so being too reliant on him is not the worst thing in the world. But you’d like to see some more variation. I’m not completely sure what that would look like. But with France on the “hard” side of the draw, I think Didier Deschamps will be reluctant to get more expansive. I think the workmanlike midfield three is here to stay. They need more quality from Dembélé, but otherwise this might just be France’s approach for the competition, which is a shame.
Poland were already out and just felt like causing trouble, which is the most admirable reason to do anything, but forgive me if I don’t have much to say about them.
Netherlands 2-3 Austria
14 teams at the Euros have averaged more than 50% possession so far. Of those teams, Austria, at 82.5%, have by far the lowest passing accuracy (per WhoScored). They press to win that ball back, then go pretty direct when they have it. Ralf Rangnick is doing what he does.
Ok, yeah, the Netherlands did dominate this game. Austria’s first, an own goal, had a huge slice of luck. But still, I’m impressed with how well Rangnick’s system has worked at international level. Something beats nothing, and his organisation is better than the fairly limited football most sides put out here.
Ronald Koeman is going to make his team absolutely awful to watch in the knockout stages. Good thing they’re probably going to be playing… *checks notes*… oh, god.
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England 0-0 Slovenia
I hope all of you who aren’t English are enjoying how much I’m not enjoying this.
Gareth Southgate made just one change: Conor Gallagher in for Trent Alexander-Arnold. Playing Alexander-Arnold in midfield hasn’t really worked, he doesn’t suit receiving the ball so high up the pitch as England seem to demand of him, and the team struggled to press against Denmark. So Gallagher’s energy made sense.
The problem was this wasn’t a game for pressing at all. England had 74% of the possession. They were sitting in front of Slovenia trying to move the ball from side to side. Gallagher is useless in that environment. The way England moved the ball in that first half was so slow. England did actually utilise the left side this time, but I don’t think it was by choice. Slovenia were pretty happy to let Kieran Trippier have the ball, knowing he wouldn’t be a threat every time he came back onto his right foot. Foden was a little more direct and a little more willing to stay wide, but I think that was more about the flow of the game than a conscious choice.
Kobbie Mainoo came on for Gallagher at half time, and I do think England had at least a bit more zip about them after that. It still wasn’t very good, but at least people were trying to make movements to shift Slovenia out of their low block. England took seven shots from open play against the 57th ranked team in the world, with Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold all getting on the pitch. Yuck.
I don’t really know what there is left to say about England at this point. These aren’t the same problems Southgate has been struggling with for years. People on Twitter act like that’s the case, but I don’t think they have functioning eyes. This is not a tactical straightjacket at all. This is not sufferball, in the sense that it’s not supposed to be like this. This is a collection of individuals just doing their own thing whenever England have the ball. I’m honestly not sure I care what the structure is so much that there is a structure. It doesn’t have to be complex. Just give us a basic sense that players fill certain spaces. England did that pretty well in Qatar in 2022. Why is it so difficult now?
The Three Lions will (I’m told, I have basically no idea how it actually works) probably face the Netherlands in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday. Right now, the plan seems to be to just hope Luke Shaw gets fit and that he rebalances this side with a genuine left footed option staying wide. But let’s say he’s not back in time. What can England do? Ian Wright ruffled some feathers saying that Southgate should put Bukayo Saka at left back, in order to play Cole Palmer on the right wing. I don’t hate the idea of putting Saka in the kinds of spaces Trippier has been so poor in, as it would really give the team a different dimension. But coming into the knockout stage, I think that would be a little too attacking and risky.
My idea might be to play him at left wing-back. Yes, Arsenal fans, I hear what you’re saying. But look, I’m not trying to get the best out of any individuals. I’m trying to find a way to win football matches. England could have Saka on the left and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right, each getting chalk on their boots to create more space for a narrow front three of Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane. It’d cover the space much better than the amorphous blob we’ve seen. But please, Gareth, do something. Successful tournament sides consistently change things during the campaign. That’s what I found watching and writing about past World Cup winners 18 months ago. They don’t stick to the plan for the sake of it, and nor should England.
Oh, right, and Slovenia are going through. Seeing their players and coaching staff celebrate at the end was the only enjoyable part of this game, so that’s nice. They’re going to need a bit more than this to get further, but still, it’s nice.
Denmark 0-0 Serbia
This game… happened?
I don’t know. I didn’t watch this one. I’ll catch up before Denmark’s next game against Germany on Saturday. Congratulations to the Danes, apparently.
Questions for tomorrow
Slovakia vs Romania: Literally all to play for here. Throwing things on the line or settling for a draw?
Ukraine vs Belgium: Romelu Lukaku, is this the moment? It has to be, surely.
Czech Republic vs Turkey: Turkey have looked like a side with much more quality. Czechia to try and fail to stifle them?
Georgia vs Portugal: Does Cristiano Ronaldo get a rest? Are they going to think about fitness at all there?
Until then! Thanks to Immaculate Footy England for sponsoring this newsletter!
OK Grace, I know what you think about 'England takes', but here goes.....as is so often the case with football managers, their initial strength is their eventual undoing. For Southgate, his strength has been built on loyalty to his players and in lifting the burden of the England shirt. As you say this, with a meat-and-potatoes tactical set up has been enough for England to be decent in recent tournaments. But now, his loyalty is stopping him making changes (incl subs) and the atmosphere around the squad isn't helping. He and the players seem tetchy and feeling hard done by. The solution: frankly the selection and even the formation don't matter all that much. Almost any permutation of the 26 available is good enough to do well. Rather, they just need to play with more tempo and risk. That's it. I long for Southgate to turn into Claudio Ranieri and stand on the touchline shouting 'play, play, play'
Happy to see you suggest Saka and TAA as wing backs, that was an idea I've been suggesting too.
The other tactical thing I'd be interested to see is Kane playing alongside Watkins, who stretches the play in a different way. It wouldn't ever happen, but a back five does make a front two a bit easier to accommodate.
For me, I think it's hard to fit Foden, Kane and Bellingham in the same team as they all want to occupy the #10 slot.