Euro 2024, day 19

I don't even care, I'm buzzing

Sorry this one is late, though at least it’s a rest day and I still haven’t fallen afoul of putting out one of these after more games have been played. And yeah, I went longer on England than anyone else. You surely all know me well enough to expect that now.

England 1-1 Switzerland (England go through on penalties)

I cannot believe how happy I am watching this absolutely abysmal football team. They stink!

Source: Opta Analyst

As was widely reported, England changed the system… sort of. The only tweak to the starting eleven was Ezri Konsa in for Marc Guéhi, which is obviously a like-for-like switch. But everyone knew it was going to be a back three, we had just assumed it would involve Bukayo Saka moving over to left wing back to offer genuine width, with Kieran Trippier coming over to the right. That didn’t happen. In practice, the only change to the shape was having Kyle Walker tuck in a bit more as a third centre back, Saka being given more defensive duties, Kieran Trippier moving a little higher up the pitch and Phil Foden coming inside as a number ten. If we didn’t all know this in advance, I’m honestly not sure most would’ve clocked that Gareth Southgate changed the shape.

I don’t get it. England voluntarily decided to play in a way that their only outlet on the left flank is Trippier. Trippier! Do you have any idea how many English players would be better receiving the ball high on the left and running at teams than Trippier? It is not a short list! In an attacking sense, he does not have any of the skills required to be effective in that role. Certainly not at age 33. If England had someone who could genuinely accelerate past players and offer width down the left, this performance looks different. Bukayo Saka received 23 progressive passes on the right flank. Trippier received just four on the right. England’s attack only goes down one side.

Southgate’s pretty minor tweak was almost certainly about dealing with Switzerland. Murat Yakin’s team play a similar shape and have made good use of wing backs at times. Southgate occasionally likes to “match up” teams that use a back three, as we saw in Euro 2020 when England nullified Germany. That was probably his thinking here, and it’s all a bit dull. He’s not thinking about how England can actually score goals at this point. I genuinely think Southgate wanted and failed to get his team playing better football in the early stages, but that’s done now.

This match had zero intensity for long stretches. Once again, England had no real idea how to progress the ball against any kind of set defence. I think the shape change doubled down on this problem. This time Saka and Foden, both left footed, were attacking down the right flank while Trippier and Bellingham, both right footed, were stationed on the left. It makes total sense to break up the Trippier/Foden axis that looked so poor in previous games, but this template was even more one footed. Everyone was constantly taking an extra touch to bring it inside on their stronger foot and allow Switzerland to reset. Harry Kane was totally static and he might not be totally fit. Saka was a threat on the right, but he was really just doing his own thing without a plan. The whole thing lacked any coherence.

After probably the worst 75 minutes of the tournament so far, Switzerland got ahead. They switch it from left to right well, giving Dan Ndoye the chance to drill a low cross in that everyone messes up for Breel Embolo to score. It was the only genuinely good bit of play we saw in the whole match. Saka equalised five minutes later, and he did it purely through a speculative long range shot that happened to go in.

England did gain a bit more zip about their play in extra time through some decent subs. I don’t think Cole Palmer is a better footballer than Foden, but he plays in a way in which he has to think about it less. Foden has spent so much time adapting to intelligently fit into Pep Guardiola’s positional play structure that you can’t just give him the ball and expect something to happen. Palmer just wants to try stuff. It’s what England need more of. International football is a different sport to the club game, and Palmer is better suited to this than Foden.

England won the penalty shootout because… football. A certain academic has once again come along to tell us that everything the winning team did in the penalty shootout was a perfectly rehearsed routine, while the losing team made an array of mistakes. And I just think it’s nonsense. I would like him to say, at least once, that the losing side did a good job of managing what they could control, but football is football and sometimes the ball doesn’t go in. It’s ten kicks of a ball. Anything can happen. People want to believe that life isn’t about random chance, that something like this isn’t a lottery. I’m sorry but I just think it’s a lottery.

England are now set to face the Netherlands in the semi final. Cody Gakpo feels like the main threat right now, and I think a back four would handle him better than a three. You want a genuine right back to show him on the outside and keep him from coming into the box. That’s what I expect to see. England have been absolutely appalling all tournament, but we’re now only two games away from winning it all. Anything could happen.

Netherlands 2-1 Turkey

Look, sometimes it’s just not your day.

Despite the Netherlands’ bright start, Turkey got ahead through their first really positive moment of the game. Arda Güler gets the ball on the edge of the box in the second phase of a corner and floated in a gorgeous ball onto Samet Akaydin’s head. That was the best chance of the first half and enough for Turkey to sit a little bit for a while.

I feel like a theme of these articles is teams not pushing hard enough to score a second. They sat for a long time as the game stalled out. The Dutch were not playing brilliantly well and there were chances to put this to bed. They let it quieten down for too long before the Netherlands had a set piece go right. It was a very similar situation to Turkey’s goal, with the Dutch taking the corner short and then whipping it in for Stefan de Vrij. Shortly afterwards, they work it well from side to side in open play, getting in a cross for Gakpo to do enough to force Mert Müldür to put it into his own net. That’s the game.

I really don’t think the Netherlands played particularly well here, but they were good in short bursts. They defended just about well enough in the final period to see out the result. I like this team even if I’m not sure it’s that good, which may or may not make sense. I think they can cause different problems against England. If they keep being fairly direct and get Gakpo in a direct physical mismatch with Walker (who I generally rate very highly, but he hasn’t been on it this tournament), they could have something here. My gut says the Netherlands are favourites for that tie.

Questions for Tuesday

Spain vs France: Will Didier Deschamps notice the threat is out wide, not in the middle. I’m not sure I see the use for three defensive-minded central midfielders when Spain just want to get the ball to Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams.

I’ll be back on it to talk after that game, so take care until then.