Watching England play in Euro 24 in Germany really is some form of exquisite torture. There is nothing about this team or this manager that inspires confidence but they continue to defy the sceptics. They are now through to the quarter-finals of the tournament after beating Slovakia in the last-16 knockout tie in Gelsenkirchen. They may not deserve to be there, but frankly who cares? A win is a win. England played poorly all game and didn’t have a single shot on target in the match – until the very last minute of injury time when Jude Bellingham scored a spectacular overhead kick. A moment of brilliance from a player who has lacked consistency in the tournament so far. His goal forced the game into extra time, and within a minute of the restart, Harry Kane headed England into the lead. Two moments of magic that turned the match on its head. Football can be the cruellest of sports and Slovakia deserved more after their performance but out they go.
This England team is filled with outstanding talent but continues to play like a bunch of footballing no-hopers
It could all have turned out very differently though. In fact, the writing was on the wall from the opening minutes. England were low on confidence and lacking balance. Slovakia – a team that is more than the sum of its parts – sensed the opportunity, creating a couple of early chances. Three England players – Marc Guehi, Kobbie Mainoo and Jude Bellingham – picked up bookings early. The England fans inside the stadium made their frustration plain, with sporadic boos. It was just a case of when Slovakia might take the lead, and they duly did so. Ivan Schranz scored on 25 minutes, his third goal of the tournament.
When England trudged off at half-time, there was a widespread sense that something would have to change. The TV pundits in the studio cried out for the England manager to act. England looked like they were heading for the exit. Southgate held his nerve and kept faith in his team. He didn’t make any substitutions until the 66th minute, when Cole Palmer came on. It made little immediate difference. England simply laboured on, failing to register a single shot on target. The team looked dead and buried, and then, out of nowhere and in the dying seconds of the match, Jude Bellingham scored his extraordinary overhead kick. It forced the game into extra time, and Kane sealed the victory within seconds of the restart. England never looked back.
Southgate, whose obituaries as England manager were being written during this game, has now won seven out of ten knockout games in international tournaments. He has reached the quarter-finals in the last four tournaments. This was Southgate’s 99th game in charge of the national team, and he appears to be one heck of a lucky manager. The result – rather than the performance – will remove some of the pressure on him and his underperforming players. The clamour of criticism – from fans and TV pundits alike – will abate for the moment at least.
But no one should be fooled in terms of the bigger picture. This England team is filled with outstanding talent but continues to play like a bunch of footballing no-hopers, fearful and lacking in confidence. They were woeful for large parts of this game but somehow scrambled a win in the end. Even so, something must change if they are to have any realistic chance of winning this competition.
The questions about the manager won’t go away either. His two star players – Kane and Bellingham – rescued Southgate tonight. His team selection, his substitutions, his in-game tactics still leave a lot to be desired. Even deep into the match, with England still trailing, he didn’t appear to show any real urgency to make big changes on the field. Is that a sign of his supreme confidence that things would work out in the end? It certainly looks that way now but it could easily have turned out differently. It is hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, England arrived in Germany as one of the favourites to win Euro 24. After all, the team features the Premier League player of the year (Phil Foden), La Liga’s top player (Jude Bellingham) and the Bundesliga’s top scorer (Harry Kane). The problem is they don’t play like favourites. But to their credit, they continue to grind out results, however unconvincingly.
It is on to Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Saturday. England fans can but hope and pray that the luck lasts.
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