It is certainly not by design that Gareth Southgate had his England side play well enough for 196 seconds to somehow avoid an embarrassing, premature Euro 2024 exit. No, the plan was to do a little more than that, over a longer period, too.
Jude Bellingham’s bicycle kick and Harry Kane’s header were moments of character and ingenuity that turned the last-16 encounter with Slovakia on its head. But the dramatic denouement was only required because England had badly fallen short, again.
Southgate revealed after Sunday’s game that a presentation had been given to his 26-man squad at St George’s Park ahead of the tournament all about 1966 and how that group of players had it far from smooth on their journey to World Cup glory. The current crop are just about navigating their passage through this tournament — and the ‘just about’ cannot be emphasised enough.
The do-or-die aspect of the knockout phase of the competition did not sharpen English minds. Until the final moments of normal time, this was a familiar display from Southgate’s side: a disjointed team with not enough penetration and little urgency. Added on this occasion was also a more vulnerable-looking defence, too.
It is more important whether you win rather than how you win at this point of the competition, but England need to change if they are to make the most of their let-off.
Southgate clearly believed that the lineup he has continuously selected was the right one — barring the revolving partner for Declan Rice in midfield — and his reluctance to go early with his substitutions despite little in the way of improvement hinted at either stubbornness or undistinguishable belief.
Yet, it was apparent that England were again without a clear strategy. As Slovakia took the lead through Ivan Schranz midway through the first-half and England failed to offer much in response, it was hard not to see a group of players looking rather lost on the pitch.
Clearly, Southgate sends his team out with a plan of action, but similar to the narrow win over Serbia and the two draws against Denmark and Slovenia, it was very difficult to discern what exactly it was.
For almost the entirety of the tournament, England have looked unsure of themselves. Whether that be down to muddled tactics or player fatigue, it has meant they have never got going in Germany.
When Southgate turned to his substitutes bench (sending on Cole Palmer in the 66th minute, Eberechi Eze on 84 minutes and then Ivan Toney with just one minute of stoppage-time remaining) it had been a long time in coming. Slovakia made two changes before England’s first — they were keeping the game steady, Southgate had to be more proactive.
What Bellingham’s equaliser did was, not only provide England with a humongous lifeline to snatch victory from the jaws of a seismic defeat, but also highlighted that there is something deeper that is yet to be tapped into. The unorthodoxy of the final throes saw England at their frantic and creative best.
John Stones said that it could see them now “play without the handbrake” but Southgate rebutted the idea that there has been any purposeful stalling in the first place. “We didn’t defend well at the start and we didn’t play through their press, that wasn’t a handbrake,” he said.
“That was we had a problem that we couldn’t solve getting the ball into the second line of the pitch and there’s a big difference."
'Swiss will offer big tactical challenges'
When England face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Saturday, they will need to be more like they were in the final minutes than during the opening 80-odd minutes. They don’t stand a chance of getting into the semi-finals, let alone winning the tournament, if they play sedately again.
While caution cannot be fully thrown to the wind, there needs to be a greater looseness to England’s approach. More maverick, less lackadaisical. Emotional intensity is something England have to bring.
Southgate said that they will “build on the spirit” they showed but also admitted that Switzerland, who steamrolled holders Italy after an impressive group stage, are “outstanding” and will offer “a big tactical challenge”.
“We know that the level of our game will need to be higher, but there was a spirit and there was a togetherness that has been building,” Southgate said. “We’ve had a lot of problems to solve through this whole lead into the camp, through the tournament.
“We’re putting a plaster over different things and giving young players opportunities. We’re somehow finding a way.”
There will, finally, have to be more wholesale changes to the lineup. Not least because Marc Guehi will be suspended and that means, in all likelihood, Ezri Konsa will start alongside Stones in central defence.
Should Southgate feel particularly radical then a back three, which was reverted to for part of the second-half against Slovakia, could be deployed. Any way in which to get this England team firing from the off.
It is four games now that Southgate’s starting XI, particularly in attack, has struggled to find its groove. The on-field dynamics that have been present for much of Southgate’s tenure are not currently there.
Given how close England were to departing the tournament, this reprieve feels like the time just to throw everything at it; without being reckless, a more free-form structure may emerge. As Southgate himself said before leaving the stadium following an eventful evening: “there’s plenty for us to think about”.
