Dear Oh, Dear. They have done it again. England has lost yet another Euros final. The wait for silverware continues 58 years on since they last won a major international tournament. The only things that will be coming home are the fans, players, Gareth Southgate and his coaching staff.
Harry Kane’s and England’s trophy curse continued in Berlin on Sunday after Spain beat them in the Euros 2024 final, 2-1. After La Roja took the lead early in the second half, for the first time in the match, the Three Lions started playing in Spain’s half. For almost the entire first half, it was Spain who had the possession while England was set in a rigid defensive structure and was playing laid back.
When Gareth Southgate was in school he must have been the kid who made the same mistake a thousand times. And it’s evident from how he makes the English team play football. The only thing Southgate has been successful at this tournament has been making the right substitutions at the right time. And even today it was the substitute Cole Palmer who scored a beauty from out of the box to equalize for England. Now, any sane manager would want his players to build upon the pressure, and make even more inroads into the opponent’s box, but what does Southgate do? Of course, he goes back to defending with his team laid back in a compact formation.
The result? A quick counter and a pin-point Cucurella low cross which was turned in by Mikel Oyarzabal to give Spain the lead in the match. England has suffered from these regressive footballing tactics in knockout matches in the past as well. 3 years back in Wembley, after taking the lead in as early as the 2nd minute of the match against Italy, what did Gareth Southgate order his team to do? Sit back and defend for the whole 88 minutes left in the match and only play on counters. And what did that amount to? Penalties, which England lost.
This England team deserves to play positive football, especially with the talent they have. Moreover, Southgate seldom uses the available talent he has on his hands. For example, the exclusion of Cole Palmer in the starting is very questionable. Especially when Phil Foden was an absolute flop throughout the tournament. Cole Palmer on the other hand, in the little time he was on the pitch provided the game-winning assist in the Semifinal and went on to equalize for England in the Final.
Throughout the tournament England has tried the “Safety first” approach only to concede first most of the time and then rely on individual brilliance to pull them out of the deep waters. Even against Spain, it was the same case, if not for Bellingham’s physicality and Cole Palmer’s finesse, England would’ve never equalized. It is now the second Euros Final loss in back-to-back European Championship for England. And in the grand scheme of things, only one man is responsible.
While England plays football ” To Not Lose”, their opponents throughout the tournament have played their football “To Win”. That is how the game is supposed to be played and Spain under their head coach Luis De La Fuente has shown how effective their methods can be. With Gareth Southgate extending his contract till the 2026 WC, it seems like England fans will have to endure one more International tournament heartbreak before hopefully, the England board give up on Gareth Southgate once and for all.
