When the England Men departed the field at Molineux just 1 month ago, they did so to boos and jeers, having suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Hungary, in one of the worst performances under manager Gareth Southgate. Cries of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ echoed throughout the stadium. There was real anger and frustration at what they had just witnessed. The prosecution demanded his head on a platter (metaphorically speaking). The defence, though, had a convincing argument. Yes, England were poor, but Gareth had a ton of credit in the bank to justify staying on, having taken England to a World Cup Semi Final, and then followed it up with last summer’s emotional run to the Euro Final, only to fall short in the most heart-breaking fashion. He deserved the chance to put this right.
‘Yes’, countered the prosecution. ‘But England did not convince in that tournament. They scraped through the group stage, scoring only two goals, and drew 0-0 to Scotland. They struggled against Denmark in the Semi Finals, needing an own goal and a very debatable penalty to get over the line. And in the Final, they blew an early lead, allowed Italy to dominate the game, and lost on penalties. The only games they looked comfortable in was against a Germany side at the end of their life cycle, and a Ukraine side who looked as though they had advanced one round too far.’
‘True’ conceded the defence. ‘But you don’t progress through tournaments with beautiful, attacking, exciting football. You cannot get to the Final whilst at the same time entertaining the crowd. Look at France. Look at Spain. They didn’t make it to the Final. England did. Yes, Gareth is pragmatic, defensive. Yes, the football isn’t easy on the eye. But it’s not about how you win, it’s simply about winning the game. That’s all the fans will care about. That’s all that will be remembered.’
It’s an argument that has lasted just 1 month. Because at this tournament, Sarina Wiegman has proved that the two notions, winning vs entertaining, are not mutually exclusive. Pragmatism, playing not to lose, is not the sole methodology to navigate a team to a major Final. There is another way, if you are bold enough, if you are brave enough. And the rewards were there for all to see on a magical night in Sheffield. England finally ended the ancient curse of Sweden, the hoodoo that held back their attempts at tournament glory as far back as 1984. And they did so in some style.
The Lionesses have taken the defensive, solid, cater for the opposition approach before. Mark Sampson took England to 2 Semi Finals during his time at the helm utilising this very method. England, at the time, were the underdogs, having very little experience going deep into major tournaments, often already back home well before the Final kicked off. The plan worked to an extent, England progressed well, even winning Bronze in 2015. But it never allowed them to take that next step. And as the team improved, it became less acceptable to take that approach, as it inhibited England, not allowing the better, technical players to be utilised to the best of their abilities. Phill Neville’s approach, on the other hand, appeared to be to flip to the other extreme, to indulge the technical individualism of players over the structural collective. Yes, England played some nice stuff in 2019, but it came at the cost of the shape of the team, leaving them far too exposed at the back, especially when defensive mistakes occurred (of which there were plenty), and it ultimately led to the same result.
Sarina appears to have discovered that crucial balance, finding the perfect blend of defensive security and brilliant, attacking flair. Whilst Gareth Southgate persists with a back 3/5 to cater for his side’s defensive shortcomings, at the cost of limiting his midfield presence and starving his attack, Sarina has been bold, opting for the back 4, trusting her backline. This is despite it being a backline completely right footed. Leah Williamson has been moved to LCB, not her natural position at Arsenal. Rachel Daly, a forward for Houston Dash, has now been repurposed at left back. Yet despite the lack of complimentary footing, despite the element of square pegs in round holes, it works. England have made it to the final with only one goal against their defence. Williamson and Bright have looked commanding at the back, whilst also able break the lines with their exemplary passing. For Bright, this is a major step up, having had struggles at the back when partnered with Houghton in 2019 and at the Tokyo Olympics. Daly looked back to her best, a superb Cruyff turn in the first half shaking off any fears she might still be suffering the aftereffects of her torrid experience against Spain. The temptation to have brought Greenwood in would surely have been strong, yet Sarina persisted with the same side that has served her so well at the tournament, a side that has got stronger and stronger with each game.
In 2016, England went into their final game with Slovakia on a high. A late 2-1 win against Wales had put them top of the group. All they needed was win to seal their position. But Roy Hodgson completely changed the team, and because of that, all momentum was lost. England drew 0-0, finished second, then suffered the greater ignominy of losing 2-1 to Iceland. Defending the decision, Gary Neville, then part of the English coaching set up, said on Sky Sport’s Monday Night Club:
‘I’d always felt England Teams always ran out of steam. In 2004 and 2006, lads were dead on their feet. The same 11 played every game. I felt it was the right decision. I still do.’
It’s a convincing argument, especially to those who were forced to suffer watching England’ ‘Golden Generation’ boom then bust at tournaments between 2002 and 2006. The best players started every game and played nearly every minute. And after being run into the ground, they limped out at the quarter finals running on empty. We’ve seen both England Men’s and Women’s team coaches now heavily rotate in the group stages to keep the team fresh, and to give the entire squad game time. Sampson put out an alternate XI against Portugal at Euro 2017. Gareth Southgate did the same against Belgium in 2018, with the extra motivation to ‘manage’ the main draw. Phil Neville played 3 completely different teams in all the group games in 2019. But Sarina has flown in the face of this ‘truth’, and England have become stronger, not weaker because of it. Fran Kirby, so often the great English disappointment, had her best ever performance in a Lioness shirt at a major tournament, building on her strong displays against Norway and Northern Ireland, growing in confidence with each game. For a player who had been out with Illness for most of the season, and unconvincing in the warmup games, it is to Sarina’s extreme credit to have maintained her trust in her, despite Toone’s strong performances off the bench, particularly against Spain. Indeed, the bench are what has helped avoid the burnout Gary Neville highlighted, as they have allowed England to sustain the level of intensity, with quality on par with what they had withdrawn, and withdrawn earlier than normal. It should also not be ignored that, as hosts, England have had longer rest periods than anyone of the other teams in the tournaments, due to the nature of the fixtures. They have yet to suffer injuries to their key players, like Spain or France, or have major COVID outbreaks like Sweden or the Netherlands that damaged their squad. Only Wubben-Moy and Hampton have had to step away, and their loss has not been to the detriment of team. That being said, England did temporarily lose Sarina, and were lucky to have her back in time for the Spain game.
The consistency in selection has allowed the team to blossom on the pitch, to know the passes required, the movement the players can offer. Instinctive action and muscle memory over hesitancy and thought are what makes England such a strong prospect in attack. Too often, when watching the men play, the game is slow and ponderous, with the players passing, stopping, observing, going backwards, and not progressing anywhere. When Lucy Bronze picked up Hemp’s cross on the right flank, the norm would have been to take a touch, look up, assess the situation, and look to either float a cross, bolt for the by-line, or pass back to Stanway to recycle the attack. Yet she did none of the above. She struck the ball first time into Beth Mead, not allowing the Swedish defence to settle to the change in attack. Beth Mead’s striker’s instincts took over, one touch to control, and a superb swivel and volley past Lindahl to give England the lead. Kirby’s beautiful chip to ice England’s cake (assisted by some poor keeping from Lindahl, who had a night to forget), stemmed from her executing her move before the defence could reach her, before the keeper could come out to close her down, allowing her to expose Lindahl’s poor position in the box. And then there’s Russo.
The norm when picking a team is to start with the strongest XI straight from the off. Sarina has taken the novel approach of having England finish with the strongest XI. There can be no doubt that Alessia Russo has had a better tournament than Ellen White, yet she has done so because of the manner she has been utilised. The stronger striker coming on to expose the match-weakened defence has been used to brilliant effect ever since the Norway game. Russo’s pace, strength, and aerial presence has helped see England both close out games and rescue them when all hope seemed lost. Against Sweden, she had her greatest moment yet, a moment of pure skill, imagination, and incredulity. It looked like Russo had spurned her moment when she shot straight at Lindhal. She chased the rebound, with Andersson and Seger for company. Would she play for the corner? Hold the ball up and wait for the winger? No. Instead, she had the tenacity to backheel the ball, without looking at the goal, without knowing how the defence was set up, and without seeing the ball roll through Lindhal’s legs and into the back of the net.
Instinctive. Impulsive. Not thinking but acting.
😱 @alessiarusso7, that is 𝙊𝙐𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙂𝙀𝙊𝙐𝙎 😮💨#WEUROVision #WEURO2022 @hisensesports pic.twitter.com/i0BMDsxoa9
— UEFA Women's EURO 2022 (@WEURO2022) July 26, 2022
That is not to say this was by any means a perfect performance from England. As comprehensive a result this was, it was not without jeopardy. For 30 minutes, Sweden were the better side. Within the first minute, England were indebted to a superb save from Earps to deny Jakobsson. She denied Blackstenius with a brilliant dive, then topped that with her save from the tournament so far, a full stretch to tip Stina’s improvised effort over the bar from close range. Sweden hit the bar through Stina as well, suffering the inability to capitalise on their moments of dominance that have plagued their tournament. England only unlocked their full potential once they had taken the lead. Up until then, Sweden were able to ping them on the counter with ease, exploiting the space left behind when Lucy Bronze left behind, who had a poor first half. Yet she was able to rectify that after the break, and capitalised with a goal from her own, heading home Beth Mead’s corner to provide an early second half sucker punch to quell any potential Swedish response. England were able to ride out the storm this time, but they need to kick into gear right from the off in the Final. France or Germany will not offer them the same luxury. It has been the one element that can be held against them so far at these Euros. It is what almost cost them so dearly against Spain. It is what will cost them on Sunday if they do not correct it. But if they do, if they play as well as they can, as well as they have done this summer, they could end the final hoodoo, bridge the final gap, take that final step. History is just 90 minutes away. In 1984, England were close. In 2009, they were out of their depth. In 2022, they have every chance of reaching the top of a summit that for too long looked beyond them. 2022 has been England’s party. Now it’s up to them to end it with a bang.
Written by Adam Salter.
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