Euro 2024: England and Gareth Southgate fall short as Spain show the way forward
England were beaten by Spain in Sunday's final and the Three Lions' familiar failings indicate a need for change after almost eight years under Gareth Southgate
So once again, football isn’t coming home. England lost to Spain in the final of Euro 2024 on Sunday night and what was surprising this time was not that the Three Lions were beaten by the tournament’s standout side, but that they managed to get this far at all. Thirty years of hurt? Make that 58… and counting.
England were one of the pre-tournament favourites to win Euro 2024, but the Three Lions never lived up to that billing. Two goals in three group games against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia set the tone for what was to follow and on the brink of a desperate last-16 exit at the hands of Slovakia, it took a moment of brilliance from Jude Bellingham right at the death to force extra time and a Harry Kane header to win the tie.
Gareth Southgate’s side then needed a shootout to overcome Switzerland and although there was an improvement in the semi-final win against the Netherlands, England got back into the game thanks to a highly questionable penalty decision.
In the final, England only really started to play after they had fallen behind and soon sat back again after levelling the scores. It has been a trend under Southgate, even if the players insist that the manager has not instructed them to drop their intensity or change their position on the pitch after a goal. It happened in the final of Euro 2020 against Italy after Luke Shaw’s early goal. It happened in the 2018 World Cup semi-final loss to Croatia. And it happened again on Sunday night.
Southgate’s style has served England well, in general terms, allowing the team to make back-to-back Euros finals, a World Cup semi-final and a World Cup quarter-final. Tournament football, some say. But it is increasingly the more progressive teams which win these tournaments. At Euro 2024, Spain were the most positive and proactive team. By contrast, England were reactive and that’s usually not good enough to win the top prizes at this level any more.
Of course, England’s record under Southgate has been very good overall. Excellent, in fact. But it hasn’t been quite sufficient to take that final step and with the players England have, there is scope for significant improvement. “England are better than what they’ve shown us,” Alan Shearer said on the BBC. Or they should be, anyway.
It is telling that, despite England’s run to the final, only Jordan Pickford and Marc Guehi have really been under consideration for inclusion in the various teams of the tournament posted online and on social media since Sunday night.
Earlier in the tournament, Southgate even suggested he was struggling to find the right balance in midfield without Kalvin Phillips, who has barely played since signing for Manchester City in 2022. And yet, he had some of the best midfielders and attackers in Europe in Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Kane.
Apart from Saka, none of these players performed near the level frequently shown with their clubs and that is not a positive reflection of the coaching staff or tactical plan. Bellingham was billed as England’s saviour and he was against Slovakia, but offered only moments overall. Foden blew hot and cold. Anthony Gordon was barely used, Adam Wharton didn’t appear at all, and bizarrely, Trent Alexander-Arnold was played in midfield and then completely discarded in a team screaming out for a creative spark.
Kane, meanwhile, did not look properly fit and quite often, England were better when their captain was off the pitch. It was refreshing, however, to see Rio Ferdinand point out on Sunday that he had not been used correctly. The 30-year-old is England’s best passer and yes, he drops deep. But with wide players pushing into the corners and Bellingham making late runs into the area like he does at Real Madrid, it could have worked well. When England beat Spain 3-2 in Seville in the Nations League in October 2018, Kane was devastating in that role as Raheem Sterling (two) and Marcus Rashford scored the goals. Not this time.
On Sunday, it was Spain’s two young wingers who pushed England back. Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal are both extraordinary talents, but the pair have also been given licence to press and attack. In Berlin’s Olympiastadion, there were two teams which looked evenly matched on paper. But one played to their strengths while the other definitely did not.
All of which leads to the conclusion that, despite his popularity with the players and impressive results overall, it really does feel now that it would be in everyone’s best interests for Southgate to step aside.
Which does not necessarily means things will improve. Not at all. But England need to find a way to be a little more like Spain. Remember, La Roja were perennial underachievers in international football until 2008, but a change of style and a focus on technical, progressive, possession-based, front-foot football brought about a golden era. Now is the time for England to try something similar with this special group of players and even it fails to work out, at least it will be more fun than this.
Thanks everyone for your patience. I have more time again now and will be back to posting more frequently here. All the best, Ben