Many have regarded this English squad as the starting of a new Golden Generation. But much like England’s previous “Golden Generation”, this one has failed to live up to its tag until now. England has a plethora of footballing talent all over the pitch, and even on the bench, especially in the midfield and attack.
Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, and Anthony Gordon, just to name a few; have all had stellar individual seasons for their club. Yet in the English setup, they’ve not been able to stamp their authority on the pitch. The Three Lions started their Euros campaign with a 1-0 victory against Serbia, which felt much more difficult than it should have.
In their second match against Denmark, England scored first only to concede to a beautiful goal by Morten Hjulmand. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
“Golden Lacklustre Generation”: The Southgate problem
Gareth Southgate took over as the England manager way back in 2016. In the 8 years that have followed, he is yet to bring it home for the three lions. His team’s best performance came arguably in the last edition of the Euros when England came runners-up behind Italy on penalties in Wembley. For the sheer amount of talent his sides have possessed going into the tournaments, they have almost always seemed to underperform.
Southgate’s decision-making during games has often been questioned and so have his tactics. Against Serbia and then against Denmark it felt like England completely switched off in attack right after scoring and were happy to sit back and defend. Moreover, his man management against Denmark was very questionable. Choosing to substitute Trent-Alexander-Arnold, England’s best midfielder up until that moment to bring on Conor Gallagher and taking off the talismanic Harry Kane for Ollie Watkins were some weird decisions.
This up-and-coming English generation needs a manager who can find a way to work with all the talent on his hands. Not someone who makes excuses such as, “We know we don’t have a natural replacement for Kalvin Philips. But we’re trying different things”. What about Kobbie Mainoo? If anything, he’s already a better player than Kalvin Philips ever was at just 19 years old. But still, he has been an unused substitute for England till now in the Euros 2024.
Sitting with him on the bench are talented youngsters like Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, etc who have been beyond impressive for their respective clubs. Phil Foden, primarily a RW/CAM, has been playing on the LW. Bellingham who is a number 8 is being asked to play the role of the 10. Trent is playing midfield with a clueless Declan Rice. Meanwhile, Jack Grealish who has been so good for Man City these past couple of seasons, and Marcus Rashford who has been brilliant for England, have to watch the Euros from their living rooms.
Under a manager who can make good use of the unparalleled amount of talent present, this English squad should be easily able to dominate the world stage for years to come. But Gareth Southgate is just not the man for it. The Euros this year have given us thrillers left and right. The only 2 lacklustre games of the whole tournament were the ones in which England was playing.
The Euros 2024, should be for the betterment of English football, Southgate’s last tournament at the helm of the Three Lions.
